Do you know the almost endless forests in Southern Germany? Have you ever been to our region at Lake Constance and the Black Forest or perhaps to our neighbours in Switzerland, in Basel or Schaffhausen? What many people don't know today, but is well known to connoisseurs, is the uncanny density and importance of this region in terms of clocks and watches of all kinds. The history reaches deep and far before the times when electronics almost exclusively came from the Far East. While today it is still the Swiss people with their fascinating and perfect clockworks, it was the rural region in southern Germany that attained worldwide fame with its Black Forest clocks, especially the cuckoo clocks.

It was probably the early seventeenth century when the production of Black Forest clocks began. The preferred material was without question wood. Especially cherry, oak, maple and linden were the most popular wood species. While the Black Forest used to be a classic mixed forest of deciduous and coniferous trees, it was only in the last century that it was gradually reforested almost exclusively with fast-growing conifers, which gave the forest its rather untypical dark appearance. Until a few decades ago, woodworking and the profession of the woodcarver was still a typical occupation for this region, which can still be seen today in the great elaborations of the countless wall clocks.

While Swiss watch manufacturers still sell their modern wristwatches worldwide, the watch industry in the Black Forest and its surroundings is rather restrained. But there are still the small manufacturers and factories that hold on to their traditions and dreams to give their best every day to produce beautiful watches with this ancient know-how .