THE CLOCK & WATCH FAIRS
at
UXBRIDGE COLLEGE
(was Brunel Clock and Watch Fair at Brunel University)
and
MIDLANDS (Motorcycle Museum)

This page was written and maintained by me, Raffi, on behalf of the organisers, because they didn't have their own web site. They do have their own website now, it is www.clockandwatchfairs.com. If you prefer to telephone them: Carl 01895 834694 or Liz 01895 834357, Or email pauldungate@tiscali.co.uk, please do not telephone or email QUICKTEST.

As from 2011 this page will no longer be maintained, visit www.clockandwatchfairs.com

PLEASE DO NOT TELEPHONE ME ABOUT THIS FAIR, I AM NOT THE ORGANISER.
Strange as it may seem, some people call to ask me lots of questions about the fair, because they can see it on this page, but they are obviously not very good at reading.

BRUNEL (UXBRIDGE) CLOCK & WATCH FAIR
Kingston Lane, UB8 3PH

SUNDAYS 2010:

September 12
December 19

Admission: 9am £5.00, 11am to 1pm £2.50, 1pm-2.30pm £1.00 (under 18s free)

MIDLAND CLOCK & WATCH FAIR
Set Sat.Nav to B92 0EJ

Size: 148 Stands

Venue: National Motorcycle Museum, Solihull, Nr. Birmingham, B92 0EJ

Directions: Short taxi ride from Birmingham International Rail Station/Airport (M42 Exit 6 at A45 junction; Near M1, M6, M5 & M40)

Admission: 9am £5.00, 11am to 1pm £2.50, 1pm-2.30pm £1.00 (under 18s free)

Dates:

SUNDAYS 2010:

September 5
November 7
January 16 2011

REVIEW OF UXBRIDGE CLOCK & WATCH FAIR
(The following article, by myself, Raffi Katz, was published in the Antiques Dealer Newspaper in 1999 - OK, so it is a bit out of date but it gives you the 'flavour' of the fair)

"It was an accident really", explains Carl, "I didn't intend to start a Clock and Watch fair at all. I was visiting a similar fair, it was a nice little fair but it only had 35 stalls, so we telephoned around our clock and watch friends and got dozens of them to go along. Then I heard that the organiser wasn't sure about continuing and so I said to my friend Paul, why don't WE start a Clock and Watch Fair? Well we both live in Uxbridge so we looked around and found a good site at Brunel University, and our first fair was in 1988. At that first fair we had 45 stands and 500 visitors. Now, eleven years later, we have 153 stands and attract 1200 to 1400 visitors to each fair.

So it was that two enthusiast-collectors (neither are antiques traders) accidentally started a clock and watch fair: Carl, a marketing expert and Paul, a geologist.

Says Paul, "This is now the largest Antique Clock and Watch fair in Europe, we have standholders from as far afield as Devon and Scotland and visitors from Germany, Holland, Italy, Israel and U.S.A, it is THE place to meet anyone and everyone who is into clocks an watches, even the British Horological Institute and the Antiquarian Horological Society exhibit. Enthusiasts bring items for advice and invariably end up buying, part-exchanging, selling, or they might buy spare parts or tools, it's that type of fair; in fact 80% of the items for sale have NOT been renovated, and that means it's also a dealer's fair where bargains can be found".

This is not to say that this is purely the 'bargain basement' of clocks and watches. Carl estimates that there is £2 million pound's-worth of stock at this fair, and they even have teams of plain-clothes security men actively patrolling. This is a fair that has been thought out in great detail.

"Everything has to be right. The population density has to be right, the location must be right, it must be close to a motorway with ample car parking close to the hall, and the hall has to be big enough. Also the ethics have to be right, we're well-aware that the stallholders have to have crowds of SPENDING customers or they won't come again, and at the same time the buyers must find the bargains or THEY won't come again, so we periodically carry out surveys, we will ask ALL the buyers why they have come, where they have come from and how they heard of us; and we will ask ALL the sellers if the fair was worthwhile and if not then why not. Then we analyse the results, think hard about what has been said, and plan accordingly.

"Why go to twenty general fairs to find just a dozen watch stalls between all of them? Why travel a hundred miles to an auction merely to find that the clock you wanted had been mis-described? Here we have a significant part of the U.K.'s clock and watch trade under one roof."

He is certainly right. At a general fair you might browse a book stall for the half dozen books about clocks and watches, here there is a large stall where EVERY book is about clocks and watches; at a general fair you might find one military watch in a cabinet of watches and jewellery, here you can choose from a dozen specialists in military watches. As for tools, dials, movements, cases, it seems that every third stall is piled high with them.

It's also an easy fair for the sellers, setting up is at 8.15am, packing up starts at 3pm, possibly the shortest trading day of any fair.

"We used to run the fair until 5pm but the stallholders complained that there was no business in the afternoon. So I did a survey and found that they were quite right, nearly everyone visits before midday, so what was the point in sitting it out until 5pm?".

It is so rare, these days, to visit a fair at which there is frantic activity AND true enthusiasm from the visitors AND satisfaction from the professional traders. This is certainly a fair I would recommend for anyone who is interested (even remotely) in clocks and watches.