Precise Mechanisms at any Cost

It was in particular the brilliant constructing engineer, Sigmund Riefler (1847-1912) of  Nesselwang near Munich who perfected the construction of  high-precision pendulum clocks. The best products from Riefler’s company had daily rate variations of less than one hundredth of a second.

The expense with regard to construction, material and workmanship was enormous. That is why Riefler clocks and precision pendulum clocks of similar quality cost several years of a labourer’s wages; however, until about 1930 no better time-keeping alternative was known. Official time was determined with highly precise pendulum clocks throughout most of the world.

Then came the era of electronic clocks. No matter how elaborate the technology, from the start mechanical clocks did not stand a chance in the race against quartz clocks. As from 1932 quartz clocks provided the official time for Germany. Laboratories and clock factories, on the other hand, used precise pendulum clocks far into the post-war era.