Willem working on the Towerclock of the Old City Hall in Toronto.

Willem Tjonasan's obsession with clocks was a ticking time bomb until he decided to turn his hobby into a profession and opened one of Toronto's only Antique Clock Shops. After years of collecting, Willem and his wife Viveca had more than 160 working antique clocks ticking, tocking and chiming away in their home.

The obvious solution was to move their clocks out and into a showroom on Avenue Road near Old Orchard Grove in North Toronto. 'We had so much, the house was jam-packed and we wanted to share Willem his love for the clocks with other people', said Viveca. On March 6, 2006, the Tjonasan's opened the warmly lit, two-room store.

Carrying a vast array of antique pieces, the stock includes some of the biggest names in clocks, like 'Elliott', 'Bennett', 'Boulle', 'Pequegnat', 'Japy Freres', 'Marti' etc. etc. Among all the different clocks, Willem's largest inventory is saved for French Clocks, which he refers to as "... work of art".

Some of the clocks have lasted 200/300 years, and with a little bit of care they can last another 200/300 years.

Many of these clocks are Table or Mantel clocks, but we also carry Wall clocks, Grandfather clocks, Cartel Clocks, Bracket Clocks, Carriage Clocks etc.

Beyond selling clocks, Willem also repairs them and does general maintenance. He even makes housecalls to ensure a clock is set up properly in his client's home.

Among the timepieces are many other decor pieces that Viveca collects, including Music Boxes, Porcelain pieces and English and French Furniture pieces.

While Viveca is happy to have most of the clocks out of the house and in a showroom, she was surprised at how much they had become part of their life. "This is the strange thing. We had all these clocks and we were always joking about clocks. And once we went on a holiday and we couldn't sleep because it was too quite in the hotel room".

When visiting the store at 1866 Avenue Road in Toronto during the weekend, don't be surprised when 10 year old Jacqueline welcomes you into her parents store and ask: "Is there anything in particular you are looking for today?" Jacqueline is the new promise for clockmaking in Canada. She'll tell you that one day she will take over the store and the fixing and selling of antique clocks.