Jones Clocks is a British clock brand from Oswestry, Shropshire. We make clocks with personality — designed for people who want something that looks great without costing a fortune.

The brand has been going for more than twenty years, born out of the same family business that created Newgate Clocks. Where Newgate sits at the premium end, Jones has always been the approachable one. Cheerful, affordable, still properly designed.

Every clock is developed by our team in Shropshire and made by specialist factories we have worked with for years. The range covers wall clocks, mantel clocks, and alarm clocks in styles ranging from mid-century clean to bold and graphic.

Not every clock needs to be a statement. Some just need to be really good. That is Jones.

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A Brand Born from a Throwaway Line

Jones Clocks exists because of a joke in a family conversation. Jim Read, who co-founded Newgate World with Chloe Read in 1990, was sitting with his sister and brother-in-law while they brainstormed names for their new textiles business. He jokingly suggested Jones the Rag, since Jones was their surname. They hated it on the spot. If you like it so much, they told him, you use it.

So he did. Jones Clocks was officially born. Simple, friendly, and unmistakably British — the kind of name that could belong on a village shop front or a family-run high street store. It was the perfect fit for a clock brand with personality, warmth, and a genuine sense of humour about itself.

Where It Came From

To understand Jones, you need to understand the people behind it. Jim and Chloe Read had grown up in families of antique dealers, surrounded by old shop signs, enamel advertisements, faded typography, and the kind of objects that carry stories. That background shaped everything they would go on to make.

The pair had started their first business together in 1990, making clocks by hand in a flat above Jim's father's antique shop in Oswestry, Shropshire. It began with a chance find in Exchange & Mart — a small advert for quartz clock movements at about a pound each. By fitting a movement into one of their picture frames, they turned an ordinary object into something with purpose. A framed clock sold for more than double the price of a framed print. From that moment, clocks became the centre of everything.

The business grew steadily through the 1990s into a recognised name in British design, with clocks in Harrods, Habitat, Liberty, Heals, and the Conran Shop. You can find the full premium range at Newgate World. By the early 2000s there was a clear opportunity. Large retailers loved the Newgate aesthetic but needed it at a more accessible price point. Rather than compromise the Newgate name, Jim and Chloe created Jones as a separate brand with its own identity.

Two Brands, One Creative Heartbeat

With a strong first range ready, Jones started knocking on doors. Within a few years it had been picked up by virtually all the major UK supermarkets and DIY sheds — a proper retail success built quickly on the strength of the designs alone.

The split between the two brands created a balance that worked for everyone. Jones became the reliable, approachable label for larger retailers, while Newgate retained its design prestige and independence. It also meant the team could make their own affordable versions of their favourite Newgate designs, rather than watch competitors do it for them. Two brands, one creative heartbeat.

Where We Are Today

More than twenty years on, Jones Clocks is a genuinely independent British clock brand, designed and developed by a creative team in Shropshire and sold across the UK and beyond. The range continues to grow and evolve, with new designs added each year — wall clocks, mantel clocks, and alarm clocks in styles that range from clean and contemporary to bold and graphic.

Every clock carries the same instincts that have driven the business since 1990: an obsession with detail, a fascination with materials, and a belief that everyday design should make people feel something. Jones just makes sure it does that with a smile.

Jones Clocks is part of the Newgate World family of brands, based in Oswestry, Shropshire.

Part of the Newgate World Family

Jones Clocks is one of four brands made by the same team in Shropshire.