Played with a nylon tip drumstick they sound rather like the coil chimes in a mantle clock.

Their clocks often looked like models made by Seth Thomas or Sessions but some of their designs, especially the tall mantle clocks, were unique.

Other than the soft hum of the mantle clock, there was no sound in the vast, elaborately draped and carpeted living room.

One of the shelves held an antique mantle clock that said the time was 11:05.

There was silence for a while and Stoddard could hear the ticking of an old-fashioned mantle clock sitting on a shelf by the window.

Ridgeway Clocks is a division of Howard Miller Company, and is a producer of longcase clocks, mantle clocks, and wall clocks.

"This clock has been ticking all our married life," wrote one owner of an 1841 mantle clock in 1888.

Last week, a person could also hear the ticking of the 18th-century mantle clock in the library of the Frick Collection.

The first Metamec model was a mains-powered mantle clock numbered "701".

"All right, you guys," warned Spencer, pointing to the mantle clock which was now pushing close to midnight.