Grandfather clock

The Grandfather Clock is a decorative item in The Sims, The Sims 2, and The Sims 3: Supernatural.

The Sims
"Defined, elegant, hand polished, the clock shown is from a private collection of the highest quality, collectable, investment grade clocks still on the market. No longer being manufactured, this clock is a wise investment and a thoughtful improvement to any room. Brazilian mahogany. Solid brass hand engraved dial."

The Grandfather Clock is available for §3,500 from the Decorative > All section of Buy mode. It can also be placed in all community areas except for Magic Town.

The Sims 2
"Though considered anachronistic by some in this present age of digital readouts, this timepiece ticks and tocks with a timeless stature that transcends the limitations of the modern digital age. The Ol' Grandfather Clock makes history of any hallway."

In The Sims 2, the clock is known as the Ol' Grandfather Clock, and is available for §3,500 from the Decorative > Misc. section of Buy mode. It is a functional clock; if it is kept wound, it will show the current time on the lot, and will chime every 6 hours. The chimes will wake any Sims who are sleeping in the same room as the clock. The clock is fully wound when bought, and will run down 72 game hours after being bought or wound. If it is allowed to run down, it will start again as soon as it is wound. Sims may wind the clock autonomously, but will usually need to be directed to wind it by the player.

Despite what the Prima guide says, the clock does depreciate over time. However, it is possible to temporarily add value to the clock by using the Maintain option. This option will first appear 10 days after the clock is bought, After the clock is successfully maintained, the Maintain option will appear more frequently, but chances are that any value added to the clock by maintaining it will be lost to depreciation by the next time the Maintain option appears. Maintaining the clock is not necessary; the clock will continue to run even if the Maintain option is never used. Because of this, neither a repairman nor a Sim influenced to repair will maintain a grandfather clock.

The Maintain option builds Mechanical skill, and adds value to the clock, but runs the risk of breaking it beyond repair. If this happens, the clock will collapse into wreckage, which must be cleaned up. Sims with higher Mechanical skill have less chance of breaking the clock, and Sims with 5 or fewer Mechanical skill points are almost certain to break it. However, the length of time the clock has gone without being maintained affects the amount of time needed to restore it to full maintenance. If a highly skilled Sim maintains it on the same day that the option appears, maintenance will only take a few game minutes and is likely to succeed. However, a clock that has been left un-maintained for too long will need so much maintenance that even a Sim with high Mechanical skill has a significant chance of breaking it.

If FreeTime is installed, maintaining a grandfather clock does not build enthusiasm for the Tinkering hobby.

The Sims 3: Supernatural
A grandfather clock was introduced to the Sims 3 in the Supernatural expansion pack. Unlike previous ones, the clock cannot be interacted with at all and has no interactions. It can be used in a set of furniture items that have a gothic, possibly Victorian, style to them. Other then aesthetics, the clock is not useful or intractable.