The American Challenge

In the 1830’s, Black Forest clock dealers were suddenly facing unexpected competition from the USA, where a new type of wooden clock was produced which was even cheaper than the lacquered shield clocks. And what was especially convenient is that pendulum and weights were well-protected within the flat housing.

Johannes Kaltenbach, a clockmaker from Neukirch, assumed the challenge and copied these clocks here in the Black Forest. Yet, he overlooked what made them so successful: It was not their shape, but the manufacturing method. The individual pieces were made by using templates and gauges, which is why the movements could be assembled without any rework.

Shortly after that, the USA also exported wall clocks with movements made of stamped brass. The “Uhrenfabricke Lenzkirch” (Lenzkirch Clock Factory) copied these clocks. However, the factory was not equipped with machines for stamping out movement plates, but had to cast them, which made the clocks from the Lenzkirch Clock Factory too expensive to compete with the originals from the USA.