A cuckoo clock is typically pendulum driven, striking the hour and half hour, using bellows and pipes that imitate the cuckoo call. Today's cuckoo clocks are almost always driven by weights. The weights are made of cast iron in a pine cone shape. Most cuckoo clocks today are made in the "traditional style" to hang on a wall in your home or office. In the long history of clock making and time keeping, cuckoo clocks play a large role in the appreciation of art in clocks. The traditional style of the cuckoo clock is a wooden case decorated with carved leaves and animals and an automation of a bird that appears through a small door while the clock is striking the hour and half hour, using bellows and pipes that imitate the cuckoo call.
As early as 1650, the call of the cuckoo bird in a clock was being heard in parts of East Germany and a region of the Czech Republic. It took nearly a century for the cuckoo clock to find its way to the Black Forest. Late in the 17th century in a region of southwest Germany, the tradition of clockmaking as we know it,started in the Black Forest. The cuckoo clock is a favorite souvenir of travelers in Germany, where there are several different firms making the whole clock or parts of it. The people who make cuckoo clocks are dedicated craftsmen whose products are works of art. Black Forest, and Black Forest style-cuckoo clocks command big prices and are highly sought after in antique stores, flea markets and retail shops. They are valuable because of their elaborate hand carvings and unique artistry. The railway-house form of the basic cuckoo clock today,is carved of leaves, birds, deer heads and other animals. They have become the symbol of the Black Forest and are recognized anywhere in the world. In the present market there are also quartz battery powered cuckoo clocks that produce a digital cuckoo each hour.
Cuckoo clocks are sold for all budgets, from modest pieces with little decoration to colossal works of art which demand high prices. The cuckoo clock has been or is used in everyday life today as pendants, games, postcards, toys, in movies music and literature. The cuckcoo clock still is one of the most familiar clocks today and has become a part of our culture. Cuckoo clocks add charm and character to any home or office. Cuckoo clocks make great gifts, souvenirs and timepieces. Cuckoo clocks truly are unique artistic creations.
