Museum piece
Beneath the tall glass dome is a gold-coloured case with slender columns and a temple-like roof. The light-coloured dial is decorated with delicate floral motifs; black numerals and hands provide clear accents. Beneath the dial, gold-coloured pendulum weights turn above the richly decorated base. The open architecture reveals the movement and pendulum, giving the clock its striking presence.
The idea of the 400-day clock dates back to Johann Anton Harder. Together with clockmaker Lorenz Jehlin, he applied for a patent for a torsion-pendulum design. The application for German Imperial Patent No. 2437 was dated 16 September 1877.
Inside is a mechanical 400-day movement with a torsion pendulum. The pendulum slowly rotates around its vertical axis; this energy-efficient construction allows a long interval between windings.
Manufacturer
Triberg · Black Forest – Baden-Württemberg · Germany
August Schatz took over a clockmaking workshop in Triberg in 1881 and began producing regulator clocks. The company soon turned its attention to anniversary clocks as well. In 1884, it became Jahresuhren-Fabrik AG; later it was known as Jahresuhren-Fabrik GmbH Aug. Schatz & Söhne. In addition to anniversary clocks, the factory made wall clocks, kitchen clocks, cuckoo clocks and travel alarm clocks, exporting its products in large quantities.
The company became internationally renowned for its mechanical anniversary clocks with slowly rotating torsion pendulums. These so-called 400-day clocks needed winding only about once a year. From the 1950s onwards, mechanical movements came under increasing pressure as battery-powered movements emerged. The company in Triberg filed for bankruptcy in 1986. Its historical records, including manufacturing documents, patents and factory books, are now preserved in the Baden-Württemberg Business Archives.