Museum piece

Hermle Table Clock with Curved Brass Stand, circa 1960

Manufacturer
Hermle
Date
circa 1960
Period
A lighter touch: the 1950s and 1960s
Clock type
Table clock
Movement
Mechanical movement; exact caliber unidentified
Chime
None
Style
Mid-Century Modern
Dimensions
16 cm × 18 cm × 5 cm
Weight
1000 g
Where it is now Has found a new home
Country Australia – New South Wales

Design

This unusual Hermle table clock was probably made around 1960. Its circular, gold-toned case rests on an elegantly curved brass stand with two spherical feet. The light-colored dial, with raised gold-toned hour markers and delicate hands, provides a calm contrast to the almost sculptural shape of the stand. The hour hand, with its open circular detail, gives the clock a distinctive character. The combination of a clean circular form and playful details reflects the design language of the transition from the 1950s to the 1960s.

Technology

Inside is a mechanical movement with rate adjustment at the rear. The exact movement designation cannot be reliably identified from the available photographs.

Story

This Hermle table clock has found a new home in New South Wales, Australia.

Manufacturer

Hermle

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/