An enamel craftsman who attended the Enameling Class at Newlyn as a teenager, learning from Reginald Thomas DICK, Clemens continued to make jewellery as a hobby, mostly for his wife and family, whilst carrying on his father's trade as a marine smith on the North Pier.

His work was exhibited by the Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society at Camborne, and was awarded a certificate of merit in 1908. He also worked in silver and copper, and it was he who assisted Tom BATTEN in making the copper galleon on the roof of the Seaman's Mission in 1911.