Lorenz Furtwängler (1807-1866), called "Schmittelenz", is among the great figures of Black Forest clock-making history. He symbolizes like no other the transition from a cottage industry to industrial clock-making in the Black Forest.

Though firmly entrenched in the traditions of the craftsman, he strove to provide "something better and more beautiful". To meet this end, he would attend industrial trade fairs; in 1858 he won a silver medal at the World's Fair in London.

His four sons founded the eminent Furtwangen clock company, "Lorenz Furtwängler Söhne", called LFS for short, where world famous timepieces of exquisite quality were made. At its peak, the company employed over 500 people.

The end came soon after the Great Depression of 1932. A vast number of the company's clocks and watches can be found in the German Clock Museum's collection.