Museum piece
This Hermle mantel clock from the 1960s features a distinctive wooden case that widens towards the top. Its high-gloss finish and four slender solid-brass feet give it the light, elegant appearance characteristic of mid-century design. The pale trapezoidal dial, with black baton hour markers and straight hands, echoes the shape of the case. A brass-coloured, side-hinged glazed door protects the dial.
Inside is a mechanical Hermle movement, calibre 130-020, with a floating balance escapement. The mechanical Bim-Bam striking mechanism sounds on three chime rods. On the hour, it strikes the corresponding number of hours; at the half-hour, it strikes once. The movement and chime rods can be accessed through a door at the back of the case.
This clock has found a new home in Campania, Italy.
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/