swinging style movement & pendulum, scarce, 10 1/2″ tall.
The original antique Junghans Clocks company began in 1861 when Erhard Junghan and his brother-in-law, Jakob Zeller-Tobler set up their Black Forest business in the town of Schramberg. Complete clocks were not on the menu from the two partners until later in 1866, instead the new business concentrated its efforts on making clock parts. Selling these parts to other clock makers allowed the partners to build up enough capital to embark on the design and manufacture of their first clocks.
The company grew rapidly from the original parts business and after Erhard passed away in 1870 the business was taken over by his two sons; Arthur and Erhard Jr. The two brothers expanded production and by the turn of the century the production of antique Junghans Clocks had surpassed all other clock makers in Germany, becoming the largest clock maker not just in Germany, but in the world.
Branding played an important part in the Junghans success. In 1890 Junghans designed an eight-point star as their trademark, something that has lasted to this day. In 1903 they employed over 3000 people and made over 3 million timepieces each year. Such was the innovation of the company that a special building was constructed in to the mountain side, a terraced building that allowed natural sunlight to flood into each and every workstation. Today this building is a listed historic building.
Arthur was succeeded by his two sons, Erwin and Oscar in 1920 who once again accepted the challenge of not only improving the business, but also continuing the legacy of innovation that was a characteristic of the Junghans business. New and exciting developments in watch making were introduced; namely wristwatches and complicated watch movements in the 1930s and 1940s.
Their antique Junghans Clocks were superbly designed and built. Hardwood cases made from Oak were some of their best, many of them having ornate engravings in the wood. Electric clocks were introduced in the 1960s, these proved very popular and many can still be found today in excellent condition.
Some of the more popular antique Junghans Clock models you are likely to find are the “Elephant Swing”, “Bat Boy Swing”, “Monkey Business”, “Onion Boy” and “Onion Boy Swing”. There are about 30 different models of Junghans clocks to collect.
Images
Click on thumbnails to see larger images:
