Cuckoo Clocks

According to the encyclopedia, the Cuckoo Clock is a carved wooden clock that strikes the hours using small bellows and whistles that imitate the call of the Cuckoo bird in addition to striking on a wire gong. The design of most cuckoo clocks is similar and they are made in the shape of a rustic birdhouse or chalet. The bird is made to move while the clock strikes, typically by means of an arm that lifts the back of the carving. Some have musical movements, and play a tune on a music box before striking the hours or half-hours. These clocks are highly decorated and carved from wood, depicting a scene typical of its origin.

History of Cuckoo Clocks

All over the world the cuckoo clock is regarded as symbol of the Black Forest. It must have happened around 1630 when a peddler who sold glass from the Black Forest to foreign countries, returned with a clock, perhaps from the land of Böhmen (today's Czech Republic). Somebody in the Black Forest must have been fascinated by this technical wonder that kept time much better than the hourglass or sundials that were used in the area at that time. So, this person built his own clock, and started the tradition of clock making.

The first Black Forest Cuckoo Clock however is designed and made by Franz Anton Ketterer sometime in the 1730’s in small village of Schönwald near Triberg, Germany, in the area known as the Black Forest. He is the first who build a cuckoo for his clocks and managed to reproduce the cuckoo's call by using a bellows and producing two different sounds. The first cuckoo clock is rather primitive compared to those made later, because its movement is made with wooden plates and gears.

Many people in the Black Forest learned how Franz Ketterer did it and the Black Forest turned into a huge clock making area. During the long winter months, the farms were snowed-in and the people had time to create finely handcrafted cuckoo clocks of many styles with rich and varied carvings. Made during winter months cuckoo clocks were sold by clock peddlers in the summer months throughout all of Europe. The clocks were secured to the peddler’s back on a wooden frame and carried on his travels. These cuckoo clocks were works of art, sought after throughout Europe.

The most valuable Black Forest clock is the "world-time-clock", which was built in 1787. It is located today in the German clock museum in Furtwangen. The cuckoo clocks are still based on the original designs. They are hand carved by skilled craftsmen and are still sought after as works of art, not just clocks.

How do the Cockoo Clocks Work?

Generally the Cuckoo Clocks are mechanical clocks driven by a mechanical movement which is run by weights under the clocks. But in the recent years quartz battery powered cuckoo clock have been made.

Mechanical Cuckoo Clocks

The inside mechanics of cuckoo clocks maintain virtually the same design since the day they were first created in the Black Forest of Germany. While the parts are now sometimes made out of metal and plastic instead of the all wood versions that started it all, the weights and counterbalance mechanisms that help them perform accurately and to imitate the sound of the cuckoo bird have not changed much in almost 300 years.

Mechanical Cuckoo Clocks are driven by the gravitational pull of weights that hang on chains under the clocks. To keep them working you have to pull up the weights from time to time. Most often the weights are in the shape of pinecones and the cuckoo clocks have either two or three weights. Two weights mean the cuckoo clock will strike the half-hours on a coil gong at the same time the cuckoo bird "calls out" the half-hours. If a cuckoo clock has three weights then it will also play a melody on the hour and, in some cases, the half-hours as well. The first weight, along with the pendulum, provides the clock timekeeping function, the second weight controls the cuckoo and movements, and the third weight controls the music. On non-musical clocks the third weight is absent.

There are two types of mechanical cuckoo clocks that run in such a manner. They are one-day and eight-day models. For 1-day cuckoo clocks, the gravitational pull of the weights will last for one day, at which time the weights will need to be wound up again by manually pulling on the chain that corresponds to each weight to the clock. For 8-day cuckoo clocks, the gravitational pull of heavier weights will power the clock for seven days. Although their referred to as an "eight-day clock," they still need to be wound every seven days.

How do the mechanical cuckoo clocks make that Cuckoo Sound?

Inside each cuckoo clock is a pair of bellows. Think of these as squeezable air chambers or a musical bagpipe. Air is squeezed our and refilled in the bellows as part of the clocks movements. As air is pushed out of the first bellow through a slotted whistle carved on the clocks side. The air passing from this bellow gives the “Cu” sound. This is followed be the second bellow pushing air through a second slotted whistle. This bellow creates the “cuckoo” sound.

Quartz Cuckoo Clocks

The quartz cuckoo clocks use timing mechanism, drawing power from batteries. These cuckoo clocks run for approximately one year on a new set of batteries, depending on the type of battery used and the amount of animated movement built into the clock.

They are not as authentic as mechanical cuckoo clocks. The quartz cuckoo clocks do not have genuine cuckoo bellows, and typically generate their striking sounds electronically. They are fitted with a manual volume control for the sounds and a shut off switch to conserve battery power. One thing that is unique about quartz cuckoos is that it has a photo-cell which is a light sensor so you also have an automatic night shut-off. When you turn your lights off at night, it automatically turns off the cuckoo call.

At the appropriate times, the doors open, the bird emerges from his house, any other animated characters swing into action, the cuckoo issues its call, flaps it's wings, the music is played and then the whole thing shuts off and the characters return to their resting places awaiting their next call to action. Another major difference in these battery operated quartz cuckoo clocks is that instead of merely mimicking the sound of the cuckoo bird, they play an actual recording of a real cuckoo bird with the possible addition of other woodsy or jungle sounds, such as running water, or anything else the creator of the piece may desire. The weights are conventionally cast in the shape of pine cones. The pendulum bob is often another carved leaf. The dial is small, and typically marked with Roman numerals.

Learn also about:

Cuckoo Clocks - FAQ - Read the answers of the most Frequently Asked Questions about the Cuckoo Clocks: How does a cuckoo clock work? Where to place my Cuckoo Clock? How to wind my cuckoo clock? My Cuckoo Clock doesn’t keep accurate time? How to setting the hands of the Cuckoo Clock?

About the Clocks - According to the encyclopedias, clock is an instrument for measuring or indicating time, especially a mechanical or electronic device having a numbered dial and moving hands or a digital display.

Atomic Clocks - Atomic Clocks are the most accurate clocks in the world. They are accurate to within ten billionths of a second and you will never need to resetting, adjust for Daylight Savings Time or bother with the date. If you want to know more about the atomic clocks, read about their history, how they work and why we need them.

Grandfather Clocks - The Grandfather clocks are more than just clocks. They can be a piece of fine furniture, a family heirloom, and probably one of the most impressive clocks you will have. Fortunately, the Grandfather clocks are no longer just for the wealthy, and now anyone can own one of these gorgeous clocks. Read about Grandfather Clocks and learn about their history, how they work and how they got their names.