The Black Forest Manufactories

A Titisee-Neustadt workshop since 1950

The company was founded in 1950 by master clockmaker Daniel Hönes. Since 1984, it has been run by Wolfgang Trenkle, who also comes from a Black Forest clockmaking family and designs the new models himself. The workshop employs nearly 60 people and offers more than 450 models, from small 20 cm (8 in) cuckoo clocks to grandfather clocks.

Its creations have won the Clock of the Year competition several times. In 2010 and again in 2015, the company was also listed in the Lexicon of German World Market Leaders for cuckoo clocks.

Hönes craftsmanship

At Hönes, all carvings and cases are made by hand, almost exclusively with materials from the region. The wood comes from the Black Forest, as do the brass movements, while the musical movements draw on Swiss expertise. The dial, hands and bird are also made of wood.

Two details make a Hönes cuckoo clock easy to recognize:

• the company logo replaces the number 12 on the dial;

• since 2015, a golden quality seal and the VdS seal have been set into the back of the case.

Our Hönes cuckoo clocks, all mechanical

On our site, all Hönes cuckoo clocks are mechanical, 1-day or 8-day, and most are VdS certified. A handy tip: at Hönes, a reference starting with 8 usually indicates an 8-day movement, wound once a week. Our guide explains the difference between 1-day and 8-day movements.

The range covers all the great Black Forest styles:

• carved cuckoo clocks, decorated with leaves and birds, such as this 8-day dial with three birds;

• hunting scenes, with stag heads and oak leaves, such as this hunting trophy;

• floral designs, where hand-painted gentians bloom on the carved leaves;

• animated chalets, where goats face off and dancers turn to two melodies, Edelweiss and The Happy Wanderer.

Choosing and setting up your Hönes cuckoo clock

A Hönes cuckoo clock needs just a few simple steps:

• Winding: gently pull the chains, every day or every week depending on the movement. Our guide explains how to wind your cuckoo clock.

• Setting up: remove the transport locks from the bellows, then hang the clock perfectly straight, about 1.80 to 2 m (6 to 6.5 ft) from the floor. Everything is explained in our guide to hanging it properly.

• Adjusting: moving the pendulum disc up makes the clock run faster, moving it down makes it run slower. To set the time, only turn the minute hand.

• At night: a shut-off lever silences the call and the music without stopping the clock.

• Care: a soft brush on the carvings, no chemical products, and a service by a clockmaker every two to three years.

To compare with our battery-powered models, see our guide mechanical or quartz.

A family company since 1952

The company was founded in 1952 in Villingen by Josef Engstler. Today it is run by Gerold Engstler, the third generation of the family, with around twenty employees and a team of decorators. The cases are made from local linden wood, and the figurines come from Val Gardena, a valley in South Tyrol renowned for woodcarving.

The pioneer of the quartz cuckoo clock

Engstler helped develop the first quartz movement for cuckoo clocks, and for a long time it was the only company to offer them. It also makes mechanical cuckoo clocks, but on our site its models are all quartz.

An Engstler quartz cuckoo clock stands out in several ways:

• no winding: the movement runs on batteries, and the weights are decorative;

• the call is a recording, often followed by an echo;

• musical models then play one of their twelve melodies, from the Cuckoo Waltz to Für Elise;

• a light sensor silences the sound as soon as the room goes dark.

Some models add a selector (cuckoo and music, cuckoo only or silence) and a volume control, like this clock with raised leaves. Our guide explains how quartz works.

A tip for reading references: at Engstler, Q stands for quartz, M for music and T for dancers. A 4491QMT model is therefore quartz, musical and animated by dancers.

Our Engstler cuckoo clocks

Our selection ranges from a small 16 cm (6 in) chalet to large 50 cm (20 in) scenes:

• animated chalets, such as this chalet with a half-timbered facade, where a woodchopper raises his arm, the water wheel turns and dancers spin with each melody;

• small chalets, such as this chalet with green shutters decorated with flower boxes, a fir tree and a red mushroom;

• more understated designs, such as this brown-toned chalet simply decorated with a carved fir tree;

• carved cuckoo clocks, decorated with leaves and birds, some with painted flowers.

Care and authenticity

The VdS certificate is reserved for mechanical movements: a quartz cuckoo clock cannot receive it, even when made in the Black Forest. Our Engstler cuckoo clocks are designed and assembled in Villingen-Schwenningen.

As for care, a soft brush on the carvings is enough, with no chemical products. Change the batteries when the clock slows down or the sound weakens, and keep it away from heat, direct sunlight and humidity. Our article on the mistakes that damage it helps you avoid them.

For the charm of winding and a bellows-driven call, discover our Hönes mechanical cuckoo clocks.