Generally cuckoo clocks are associated with large designs, wooden carvings and a sweet sounding cuckoo call that comes every hour, or in some cases every half an hour. However, in the modern era there is a new type of cuckoo clock. With a very realistic cuckoo call, and a lower quality cuckoo, these are the new generation of cuckoo clocks. The Quartz Cuckoo clock. These are the modern cuckoo clocks, and have many advantages.
Quartz cuckoo clocks appear to the untrained eye to look exactly like a traditional cuckoo clock. However it is what is on the inside that differs it from the old style. A quartz clock is a battery powered clock and is much more precise than the normal pendulum driven type of cuckoo clock. It also does not to be rewound again and again simply to keep it running. It may not be made with wood, as all traditional cuckoo clocks are, however it is made with plastic or similar materials and is designed to have the look of a wooden finish. It will generally be colored with a fantastic array of colors and this only adds to the aesthetic sense for the customer. The biggest change, and the one that will make a traditional cuckoo clock owner turn their head, is the fact that the cuckoo call is not actually produced by bellows blowing air through the pipes, but it is an actual recording of a cuckoo in the wild!
Some people find all these aspects of the quartz cuckoo clock to be negatives, and that there aren’t many positives associate with them. However this is not true. A quartz clock is not for a traditionalist who cherises the old style cuckoo clocks, or any kind of collector. However it is more for the modern day person who wants to own a cuckoo clock by can’t afford an original piece. There are quite a lot of positivs associated with this. They are cheaper, they incororate modern and simple clockwork mechanism, so it makes it very easy to get repaired or changed when it breaks. The batteries only need to be changed, as opposed to winding the old style cuckoo clock every day or every week depending on the model, and they are simply much more accurate. Perhaps the biggest addition and positive the quartz cuckoo clock has, is that it has a light sensor that means during the night, the cuckoo call will not happen, and won’t wake your whole family up!
Nowadays, there are many different styles of cuckoo clocks. However, the one we see the most is the Swiss Chalet Style cuckoo clock, which started to become popular in the nineteenth century. The was basically the first Swiss contribution to the cuckoo clock. Themost basic style is the one day clock, this however needs to wound every twenty four hours, and is thus the least practical.There is then the eight day clock, which as you can imagine needs to be wound every week. These cuckoo clocks have a musical version, wityh the addition of the Swiss music box. Extra kinds of figures were added to keep the timeless piece fresh, all animated. Figure such as men drinking beer, men sawing wood, bands playing and water wheels turning. Cuckoo clocks often have themes, these can include
- Deer heads
- Dead and live animals
- Birds
- Leaves
Much later styles of the cuckoo clock include battery operated Quartz Cuckoo Clock. These obviously do not need to be wound, and it actually has a recorded sound of the cuckoo, in addition to the sound of running water.
The first Black Forest Cuckoo Clock was made by Franz Anton Ketterer in Schoenwalk, in Germany, deep in the black forest. Ketterer was able to replicate the cuckoos call by using bellows to produce two different sounds. As time went by, the cuckoo clock industry deveoped in the Black Forest and many interesting developments were applied to the timeless piece. It was in the winter months that all the developing was done. Richly carved decorations from many types of woods were used in a show of genius, cleverness and above all dexterity!
By 1808 there were already nearly 700 clock makers and 600 clock peddlers in the nearby districts. During winter the farms were completely under snow and the people couldn’t get out. Thus they used this as a perfect time to create and build cuckoo clocks. Finely hand crafted clocks with many different styles and with rich and varied carving were developed during the long winter months.
The cuckoo clock is world wide known as a symbol of the Black Forest. The clockmakers of this area have been specialising in cuckoo clocks since the 18th century. Originally the cuckoo clock became world famous after people of the Black forest literally carried them on their backs in rucksacks through Germany.
The very first cuckoo clock was basically a painted wooden clock. The clock was fantastically decorated and was basically a square board as a face, and a raised semi circle behind a small door. This kind of cuckoo clock was made int he early 18th century and is considered to be the specialty cuckoo clock of the Black Forest. Although Black Foest is famous for their cuckoo clocks the exact origin is still unknown. By the middle of the 19th century there were two primary forms of cuckoo clocks that were prevelant. The framed clock had a large and strong wooden frame and a very wide painted inner sectionthat the clock face actually attached too. The cuckoo bird sat in the upper section. The first known clock of this type had a wooden clock face with white numbers and hand.
Philipp Hanhofer (1578-1647), a banker, a diplomat and an art collector invented the cuckoo clock. This was done well before the 17th century when the famous Black Forest cuckoo clocks were being carved. He lived in Augsberg. In his writings, which was the first known explanation, he described a cuckoo clock, which was then actually owned by Prince Elector August von Sachsen.
Also in the 17th century, lived a German Jesuit scholar by the name of Athanasius Kircher. He wrote a handbook about music and in it he spoke of a mechanical organ. This organ featured automated figures, one of which included a mechanical cuckoo. His book was the first found document of the mechanical working of what we now call a cuckoo clock.
There was also a book writeen on an elementary cuckoo clock called “Horologi Elementari”, and was written in 1669 by Domenico Martinelli, who was an ordained priest. He noted that he used the cuckoo calls to sound off the hours on the clock. By this time the mechanics of a cuckoo clock were already well known, and most clock makers understood and utilized the fact that it was practical to have the cuckoo sound of the hours on the clock. After this book, more cuckoo clocks were seen around, not just int he areas they were being made. Areas not well known for clock making. It was a few decades later that the famous black forest cuckoo clocks began to appear.
It is relatively unkown who actually built the first Black Forest cuckoo clock. However, this wonderfully good looking clock became extremely popular. The earliest known cuckoo clock maker was Franz Anton Ketterer, who was born in Schwarzwald. By the time the middle of the 18th century came around, there were many cuckoo clock makers, and many stores had been set up. The clocks were being generated and were operated with the aid of wooden plates and gears. They were beautifully carved and decorated with hand painted shields. Originally cuckoo clocks were very basic and they had only square faces, and were painted with an array of water colors. They clocks gradually evolved and are now much more refined in their designs.
By the middle of the 19th century cuckoo clocks were basically a flat wooden face, and the workings are the clock were attached behind the face. On the top you could find a circular piece of wood which had many beautiful patterns on it, and in there lived the cuckoo bird.
Repairing a cuckoo clock isn’t an easy thing to do, and can take a much longer time than repairing a normal clock. Many shops aren’t prepared to take the time to actually fix it, because it takes a lot longer than a normal clock. Sometimes you may find that the clock comes back with a whole new movements because it is easier for the repairer to do it that way. These clocks are extremely complicated. Simply to reach the part where the movement originates you need to take out whistles, wires, weights, chains, bellow, and the music box. This is all squeezed into a small casing. The bellows are the area of the cuckoo clock that is prone to deteriorate, this is also one of the most important working pieces. Cuckoo clock whistles also need an air tight fit otherwise they cannot work. If the bellows fabric is worn then the whistle will also not work. This is one of the most common problems that will cause a cuckoo clock to stop working.
Cuckoo clocks are a complicated piece of machinery and you will definitely need a specialist to repair it. There are special tools that are needed and obviously special experience. Take care of your cuckoo clock, and seek a specialist when it is broken, they are a timeless piece and you want to keep it in good working order.
