What to Consider Before You Buy a Cuckoo Clock
If you've wanted to buy a cuckoo clock but have been a little nervous, here are a few answers to help put your mind and ease?





Where should I buy my cuckoo clock?

Look around and you'll see sites like eBay filled with cuckoo clocks for sale. An authentic cuckoo clock for sale must originate from the Black Forest in Germany. That doesn't mean you have to fly to Germany to get them; that would be incredibly expensive, of course. Research the sellers of the cuckoo clocks, check reviews, customer feedback, and look at the pictures. The one thing you should see is the VDS Verein die Schwarzalduhr certification that proves the clock is an authentic Black Forest clock.



How often does the clock need to be wound?

That depends on whether you get a 1-day or 8-day clock. The 8-day cuckoo clocks tend to have bigger weights and you'll only need to wind them once a week. The 1-day cuckoo clocks need to be wound daily. You need to make sure that you wind the clocks before the weights have dropped too far or it will stop keeping time. Otherwise, winding a clock is a simple procedure that only takes a few seconds.



Are these clocks safe around children and animals?

Cuckoo clocks are safe around children and pets. You'll need to hand the clock a little higher to keep it out of the reach of both. Since the 8-day clocks have heavier weights, they aren't easy for cats to bat around so they may leave it along. Children and dogs are a different story, especially when the clock makes noise. What you can do is hook the base of the chains at the top of the weight to make it shorter (it will still function just fine) and just keep an eye out.



Where can I get it repaired?



While cuckoo clocks are built for sturdiness and quality, things can happen. If you've tried all the necessary do-it-yourself tactics and you clock still isn't working, you're need to bring in the professionals. The Black Forest Organization has a list of authentic repair shops located around the world. Just visit the site, choose your country and call them to see if they can help you. Make sure you ask for prices and follow the shipping instructions.



One last note: When buying your clock, make sure it comes with the proper paperwork, including the certificate and warranty. It's important that you have that proof to make sure that the clock you're getting is the real thing.

History of Pendulum Clocks: Parts and Complications

Until the 19^{th century, mechanical pendulum clocks were very expensive because they were handmade by individual craftsmen. An} authentic German cuckoo clock, for example, was handcrafted by artisans and clockmakers in the Black Forest region of Germany. To own a handmade clock was to show the world that you were a person of wealth. The industrial revolution changed all of that. The home pendulum clock became a means to organize daily life and businesses used them to schedule work. For nearly 300 years, mechanical clocks were the standard timekeepers.



Parts of a Mechanical Clock
All mechanical clocks have five basic parts Power source – This involves a mainspring or pulley being turned by a weight on a cord or chain.
Gear – Controls the pendulum power and speed
Escapement - Keeps the pendulum swinging using precise impulses
Pendulum – The weight on a rod
Indicator – Known as the clock face. It's the outward record of the escapement rotation

Basic pendulum clocks are used for timekeeping but what many don't realize is that more elaborate pendulum clocks had additional functions called complications. These features went beyond simply displaying the time on the clock face and ranged from simple to complex to rare.
Striking Train – If you've heard a clock strike 12 times at noon that is the simple striking chain complication where the number of chimes equals the hour. More elaborate complications strike every 15 minutes and could even include music.

Moon phase dial – The moon, or lunar, phase is a very accurate lunar calendar that showed the phases of the moon. This complication goes back to about the 1500's. Street and road lighting at night were very rare. If someone wanted to have guests over in the evening, they needed to know when there would have enough moonlight to light the streets. So the creation of the moon phase dial helped to predict when there would be sufficient moonlight as well as when the tides would rise and fall.

Equation of Time – This is an extremely rare complication that measured the difference between the position of the sun and clock time, which varied throughout the year by as much as sixteen minutes more and less. One of the oldest examples of this kind of solar pendulum clock dates back to the early 18th century and ^{resides in the British Museum.}


The history of pendulum clocks is an extensive one and it's amazing how something so simple could revolutionize the perception and use of time.