Design
This mantel clock from the 1960s has an unusually wide, low wooden case with a dark brown finish. The two side wings slope gently away from the raised center. A narrow brass trim line runs across the entire front. Four short, angled brass feet support the case.
The trapezoidal dial is framed in brass. A cream-colored hour ring with fine black markers surrounds the brown center, which bears the Wempe name. Slender black hands with pale center lines complete the design.
The wide, low shape and the combination of wood, cream and brass are characteristic of 1960s furniture design.
Technology
Mechanical Hermle 130-020 movement with floating balance escapement and Bim-Bam chime on three chime rods. On the hour, the clock strikes the corresponding number of hours; on the half-hour, it strikes once.
Story
The clock bears the Wempe brand name. Franz Hermle also manufactured movements and complete clocks for other brands and retailers. This mantel clock was manufactured by Hermle and sold under the Wempe name.
Manufacturer
Gerhard D. Wempe GmbH & Co. KG
Hamburg
· Hamburg
· Germany
Gerhard D. Wempe opened a clock and watch shop in Elsfleth on the Weser in 1878. The family business grew into a major watch and jewellery retailer. In 1907, Wempe opened a shop in Altona; its headquarters have been in Hamburg since 1923.
The company took an important step toward watchmaking in 1938, when Herbert Wempe acquired the Chronometer-Werke Hamburg, founded in 1905. Under the name Wempe Chronometerwerke, the company produced precision chronometers, including instruments for maritime use. During the Second World War, the operation was considered essential to the war effort; prisoners of war were also employed there. In 2000, the Wempe family contributed to a fund to compensate former forced labourers.
In 2005, Wempe acquired and renovated the observatory in Glashütte, establishing a chronometer testing centre and a watchmaking facility there. Since 2006, the company has made its own wristwatches in Glashütte under the Wempe Chronometerwerke and Wempe Zeitmeister lines. Wempe's history thus links the watch trade in Hamburg with chronometer production and today's watch manufacture in Glashütte.
