Museum piece
This Hermle table clock from the 1960s reflects the design language of its era. Its low wooden case, wider at the top, stands on four slender, slightly splayed legs with brass-coloured tips. The horizontal wood grain emphasises the case's broad shape. At its centre is an unusually shaped dial with softly rounded corners, cream-coloured hour sections and fine gold-coloured lines. Slender hands and a curved glass cover complete the design.
Inside is a mechanical Hermle movement, calibre 750-000, with a floating balance escapement. The movement can be accessed through a door at the back. The clock has no chime. The compact movement and generous wooden case bring together the clockmaking technology and domestic design of the 1960s.
Manufacturer
Reichenbach am Heuberg · Swabian Jura – Baden-Württemberg · Germany
Franz Hermle founded the clock factory Franz Hermle & Sohn in Gosheim on the Swabian Jura in 1922. By 1930, it was already among the region's most modern clockmaking businesses. A further production site opened in Reichenbach am Heuberg in 1951, specialising in large clocks and mechanical movements with various striking mechanisms. After Franz Hermle's death in 1953, his sons continued the business. The third generation joined in 1968 and 1974, with Gerd and Rolf Hermle respectively. Hermle North America was established in Amherst, Virginia, in 1977.
Following the insolvency of Hermle Uhrenmanufaktur GmbH in 2009, the clockmaking business was reorganised under Rolf Hermle in 2010 as HUM Uhrenmanufaktur GmbH & Co. KG. Today, Hermle remains a fourth-generation family business. It combines the manufacture of mechanical large clocks and movements with precision-turned components for industries including automotive engineering, mechanical engineering and medical technology. Since 2021, production has been concentrated at the Reichenbach am Heuberg site in Baden-Württemberg.
Company history: https://hermle-reichenbach.de/unternehmen/