Design
This Junghans mantel clock from the 1960s reflects the clean, flowing lines of postwar modernism. Its long, low case is made from contrasting shades of wood, with gently rounded ends and small, angled feet. A lighter strip of wood provides a warm contrast to the dark, glossy finish. At the centre rises a round clock housing with a brass-coloured bezel. The dial combines a dark chapter ring with gold-coloured baton hour markers and a light wood centre. Particularly distinctive are the arrow-shaped hands typical of Junghans, whose finely tapered tips and contrasting widths give the clock much of its character.
Technology
The mechanical Junghans W 774.01 movement features a striking mechanism with the so-called membrane gong. The vibrations of the chime rods are amplified not only by the wooden case: a diaphragm in the base, connected to the gong assembly, acts as an additional resonator. The principle recalls the mechanical sound transmission of a gramophone and gives this low-profile mantel clock a remarkably full sound. A small lever at the back allows the striking mechanism to be switched off.
Story
The clock has found a new home in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
Manufacturer
Junghans
Schramberg
· Black Forest – Baden-Württemberg
· Germany
The history of the Junghans clock factory began in 1861 in Schramberg in the Black Forest. Erhard Junghans initially founded the company to manufacture clock components. From 1866, it produced its own movements and clocks. Under the leadership of his sons, particularly Arthur Junghans, the business became one of Germany's most important clock and watch manufacturers. By 1903, with more than 3,000 employees and annual production exceeding three million timepieces, Junghans was the world's largest clock and watch factory.
The company made wall clocks, table clocks, alarm clocks, pocket watches and, later, wristwatches. In 1890, its familiar eight-pointed star trademark took on the distinctive form still recognised today. Alongside mechanical horology, Junghans began exploring electrical drives at an early stage. From around 1930, it produced electric pendulum clocks in cooperation with the French company ATO.
During the Second World War, Junghans was involved in German armaments production. Its factories manufactured ammunition fuses, among other products, and used forced labourers and prisoners of war. Civilian clock and watch production resumed as early as 1946.
The Nuremberg-based Diehl Group acquired Junghans in 1956. The company remained an important manufacturer of mechanical large clocks while developing new technologies. In 1971, it introduced the Astro-Quarz, its first German quartz wristwatch. Over the following decades, development increasingly focused on electronic timekeeping. A radio-controlled table clock appeared in 1986, followed in 1990 by the MEGA 1, the world's first radio-controlled wristwatch.
After several changes of ownership and an insolvency in 2008, Schramberg entrepreneurs Hans-Jochem and Hannes Steim took over the clock and watch business in 2009. The Junghans brand continues at its historic Schramberg location. Since 2018, the listed Terrassenbau, a former production building dating from 1917–1918, has housed a museum devoted to the history of clock and watchmaking.
