Museum piece
This mantel clock has a wide, rectangular wooden case with a dark-brown glossy finish. It stands on four slender, angled metal feet.
At the centre of the front is a light-coloured, trapezoidal dial with narrow black hour markers and two black-and-silver hands. The name “Hermle” appears above the centre of the hands.
A slim brass-coloured frame and a convex glass cover complete the front.
Inside is an electromechanical development of the Hermle 130-020 movement with a floating balance escapement and a Bim-Bam chime on three gong rods.
A small electric motor operates the striking mechanism and, whenever it runs, also winds the mechanical timekeeping movement.
On the hour, the clock strikes the corresponding number of hours; on the half-hour, it strikes once. The chime can be switched off using a lever.
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/