Splendid clocks
The digital tour in the Saarland Clock Museum was made possible by the support of:
In the further course the clocks could be made smaller by using brass for the gears. The cases were lavishly equipped with more valuable materials.
It was not until the 17th century that simpler clocks began to spread rapidly and widely in Central Europe, especially in Switzerland, France and southern Germany. The Comtoise watch is particularly worth mentioning here. It is a pendulum clock made in the French province of Franche-Comté.
The high level of craftsmanship could only be afforded by the wealthy. Church, nobility, landowners, etc. demanded splendid furnishings in keeping with their rank.
The first wheel clocks were mainly made in monastery forges towards the end of the 13th century. It was only in the course of time that the clocks could be made smaller and more splendid and the watchmaker's profession emerged.
Around 1450 there were independent watchmaker's guilds, e.g. B. verifiable in Vienna. Very early after the invention of the iron wheel clock, there were also attempts to build such clocks out of wood. Tower clocks, some of which were made of wood, are also known. Contrary to popular belief, the first wooden wheel clocks were by no means simple objects of daily use, but were often artfully made and, like iron clocks, intended for princes or high clergymen.
