Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Cuckoo clock collection 1 -Citizen



14th Aug 2010:Sold to Mr Ahmed from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

This cuckoo clock is made in Japan. (by Citizen)

The most fun enjoyable time about this clock is when the bird sounds and move in and out from the clock




Cuckoo Clock History


If you ask most of the people, who own a Cuckoo Clock hanging in one of their rooms about its history, chances are high that you will get “I don’t know” or maybe a few statements where they bought it. To help you out here, we sum up a short summary for you about the history and the tradition of this well-known clock.

The first so called “Black Forest Cuckoo Clock” was created over 280 years ago - around 1630 - in the village of Triberg, the Black Forest Region in Germany. Even if some sources say something different but most times Mr Franz Kettler was the person, who is brought directly into connection with the birth of the clock. But the story of the clock reaches even more back than this. It must have happened around 1630 that a peddler who sold glass from the Black Forest to foreign countries, returned with a clock, perhaps from the land of Böhmen (today's Czech Republic). So the technique and the idea was born somewhere different – but the Cuckoo Clock as we know it today comes form the Black Forest.

Somebody in the Black Forest, maybe Mr. Kettler, must have been fascinated by this idea, that kept time much better than the hourglass, that were used at that time. So, this person built his own clock, and started the tradition of clock making.

It did not take long for the Cuckoo Clock to gain incredible popularity within certain parts of Germany – even some major cities nearby. During those long winter months, the farms were snowed-in and the people had time to create finely hand-crafted cuckoo clocks of many styles with rich and varied carvings. The citizens even compete against each other for the best clock. People there had always crafted and carved using the local wood that was one of the few natural resources in the area. Each of them would try to create a more unique and detailed cuckoo clock than their neighbor’s clock.

With cleverness and dexterity, the clock makers were making cuckoo clocks with richly hand-carved decorations from various woods. In 1808 there were already 688 clockmakers and 582 clock peddlars in the districts of Triberg and Neustadt. It is known for example that in 1808 in Triberg, and the surrounding villages, 790 of 9013 inhabitants were involved in the clock-making. When Spring came around again; they would take their cuckoo clocks to town and display them.

That is the season when they would show off their hard work and sell their cuckoos to admirers.
In 1850 the Herzog (Duke) of Baden founded a School for clock-making in Furtwangen, where students learned math and drawing as well as making cases and movements for the clocks.

Thus the first clocks were rather primitive, the cuckoo clock was at that time really a piece of art – detailed crafted and featured by a hand carved cuckoo bird which was animated by various weights and pendulums. They used toothed wheels made of wood and simple stones as weights. Instead of a pendulum, they used a piece of wood called a "Waag" that moved forward and back above the clock dial, to make the clock keep time.

The so-called "Häuslers" where the people who made clocks at that time. They were not rich farmers, but clock making was a welcome way for them to earn a little money. In the Black Forest area, usually the oldest son of a farmer inherited the farm – the younger ones only got a small piece of land. So they were forced to look out for new ways to earn their living. Around 1690 a whole industry of clock making had developed in the high Black Forest.

When time went by people in the Black Forest continued to improve their techniques to produce clocks. Clock-peddlers travelling to different regions heard about new technologies which were developed in other regions. In the 17th century Friedrich Dilger from the small village of Urach went to France and brought back new ideas and tools in building clocks.

So people in the Black Forest began to specialize in certain aspects of clock making like carvers - making the cases -, painters and manufacturers of chains and toothed wheels. Others concentrated on new details like moving figures. In 1738 Franz Ketterer from the village of Schönwald was the first to build a cuckoo for his clocks. So the famous bird with the original sound “cuckoo cuckoo” was born.

At the same time there were large artist's clocks with a calling rooster in towns like Prague, Heilbronn, Berne and Strasbourg. Maybe they were the inspiration for Ketterer to build his cuckoo clock. Making a clock call like a cuckoo was easier than making it call like a rooster, but still it must have been quite difficult to develop this. The call of the cuckoo was made the same way it is today: two bellows send air through pipes. A similar technology was already in use for church-organs at this time.
The most valuable Black Forest clock is the "world-time-clock", which was built in 1787. It is located today in the German clock museum in Furtwangen.

One last thing that is important to be mentioned in this context is the origin of the "Bahnhäusle" clocks. When building the Railroad through the rocky Black Forest area around 1860, it was necessary to build many tunnels. For this, skilled tunnel-builders from Italy were hired, and they brought their way of life as well as their architecture with them. Alongside the railroad, lookout buildings were made, the so-called "Bahnwärterhäusles" which show the foreign influence. Adorned with wild grape vines, they were the inspiration for this special type of cuckoo clocks.
This ancient craft continued to develop, becoming soon a flourishing industry. The poorly lit spaces where the clock carvers worked have become light and well-equipped workshops where clock movements and cases are manufactured by modern methods. But the woodcarvings are still handmade by skilled masters as they were 200 years ago. Old clocks and original drawings of the first clocks are still used and modified as patterns for new models, but the cuckoo clock in its basic form is 200 years old. The cuckoo clock is a clock of the past, present and the future, still much loved by children and grandchildren.


Citizen brief history

For almost eight decades, Citizen has been ahead of its time. Our brand has always stood for innovations and high precision that make life better for everyday people and now we are raising our sights to meet the needs of the new Millennium.

Our History
Our beginnings go back to 1924, when Citizen's forerunner, the Shokosha Watch Research Watch Institute produced its first pocket watch the "CITIZEN". The then Mayor of Tokyo, Mr Shimpei Goto, named the watch "CITIZEN" with the hope that the watch, a luxury item of those times, would become widely available to ordinary citizens and be sold throughout the world.

Time and again Citizen has pioneered groundbreaking technologies and helped to make watches an indispensable part of modern life. Introduced in 1956, Parashock was the first shock resistant watch made by a Japanese manufacturer. And three years later, Parawater was hailed as the country's first water resistant watch.

One of the latest milestones is our Eco-Drive system. Bringing new thinking to the art of watchmaking, this is a light powered solution that eliminates the need to change batteries - a revolution that made it the first watch technology to receive the Japan Environment Association's Eco Mark for environmentally friendly products.

And in 2003, Citizen continues to evolve and be ahead of its time with the launch of Stiletto. This is the World's thinnest light powered watch - a watch so revolutionary it combines eco-drive technology with a refined, sleek and sophisticated case and bracelet from 4.4mm thick.

Citizen is, however more diverse then simply watches. In fact watches only represent less than 40% of the company's business. Today we are drawing on a heritage of proven quality and technologies as we develop the market for watches, clocks, jewellery, eyeglass frames and health care products.

The Citizen Watch Company, Ltd. was established in 1930 and Citizen Watches Australia (CWA) was established in May 1965. CWA operates across Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and the South Pacific Islands. Head office is located in Frenchs Forest, NSW.

Citizen believes that delivering excellence is the key to building successful partnerships with retailers and consumers alike. Excellence in product, marketing and service is paramount, and the resources required to achieve excellence are viewed as investments, not costs.

Citizen looks forward to the challenges that the future will no doubt bring. Our guarantee is a commitment to continually strive and work towards an even more successful future for our retailers and consumers. Ready for further growth and progress, we are working harder than ever to explore new directions and contribute to changing lifestyles.

3 comments:

cikgu onn said...

nak tanya saya baru dapat satu citizen poppo ni, 2nd hand. berapa value bagi yang masih berfungsi dengan baik?. i afraid i overpay for the item, tq

baharuddinaziz said...

salam cikgu///harga dia bergantung kepada kondisi dan originati....tetapi kalau dah minat berapa pun kita sanggup bayar...willing buy - willing sell concept

Unknown said...

I've been very pleased with the thing barring having to place it on my room's window ledge at night so, it can pick up the atomic clock signal so, it can stay accurate.and i also Like citizen watches australia

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