Mechanical cuckoo clocks

The tradition of the cuckoo clock with mechanical movement

For more than 200 years, traditional clockmakers have been painstakingly handcrafting mechanical cuckoo clocks in the Black Forest. It takes a great deal of skill and understanding of the fine components and their incessant, complex interplay to ensure that the timepieces run correctly - it is not without reason that the typical German cuckoo clocks are world-famous. The cuckoo pops its head out of the richly decorated wooden case on the half and full hour and makes its distinctive call.

How does the mechanism of the cuckoo clock work?

For the cuckoo to call on time, the functions of the individual components of a mechanical cuckoo clock must be perfectly coordinated. A classic cuckoo clock has two chain movements which, depending on the model, have to be adjusted by hand every 24 hours or 8 days to set the striking mechanism in motion. To do this, you pull on the chain hanging next to it, which lies over a cogwheel that then slowly begins to turn. In contrast to the antique cuckoo clocks with mechanical operation, there are also contemporary domestic clocks with a chime stop. This allows you to stop the sounds, but the time continues to run normally. This is a particular advantage at night.

Mechanical cuckoo clocks in classic and modern guises

If you want to buy a mechanical cuckoo clock, you are faced with a wide range of visual options. Despite the classic movement, there are also models with a modern design in addition to the familiar look. However, the themes usually remain the same: Cuckoo clocks are reminiscent of the Black Forest, old traditions and the hunting tradition

• Mechanical cuckoo clocks as Black Forest cottages

The central design element of traditional cuckoo clocks is the railway keeper's cottage with its elaborately decorated wooden ornaments. Around it, a specific motif is then presented in many small, often moving details: from a hunting scene, to wild animals in the forest, to simple farm chores. Depending on the theme and type of house, the design is characterised by discreetly uniform tones or playfully varied colours.

• Mechanical cuckoo clocks with hunting pieces

Also very popular and not far removed thematically are wall clocks that depict a hunting scene in their entirety. The clock case retains the shape of a house, but is surrounded by various leaves. A special highlight here are the elaborately carved animals on the roof: whether stag, eagle or wolf. Models with stag antlers are somewhat more restrained

• Mechanical cuckoo clocks in a contemporary design

As a contrast to the classic motifs, you can always find mechanical cuckoo clocks in a modern style. These include discreet designs, such as a simple wooden plank. However, straightforward shapes and other materials are also used, such as a metal piece in the shape of a little house with colour-highlighted hands. Nevertheless, the underlying theme is not lost in these models. The clocks are decorated with pretty antlers and weights in the shape of cones. Cuckoo clock

with mechanical movement: originals from the Black Forest

Whether as a souvenir for friends and family or as a visual eye-catcher for your own four walls: Only mechanical cuckoo clocks with the VDS certificate (seal of the Black Forest Clock Association) are genuine originals from the Black Forest. These wooden works of art still come from traditional craft workshops and are therefore of unrivalled quality and have a long service life. You can also return antique cuckoo clocks to our clock repair centre to have them restored.