The German Black Forest has a rich heritage of cuckoo clocks.

For nearly 300 years, Germany’s Black Forest has been renowned for producing quality hand-carved cuckoo clocks. When considering purchasing such a fine piece of art today, discover the importance of knowing who the manufacturer of your watch is.

Meet your watchmaker.

You will want to know for sure who actually produced the cuckoo clock you are admiring, even when visiting the Black Forest region in person. Appearances are often deceptive. Just because you are shopping at a quaint little German watch shop and they tell you that their products are handmade in the nearby family workshop, that does not mean that it is so. If you see your workshop with craftsmen hard at work … well, you can most likely take them at their word. Otherwise, buyers should be careful.

Whether you buy online or within the Black Forest itself, in most cases you won’t find the watchmaker’s name anywhere on the watch, making its true source and identity totally untraceable.

Are they hiding something?

Today, there are not many family-owned watchmaking companies left in the German Black Forest region. Much of the appeal of owning a German Black Forest cuckoo clock is the nostalgia and tradition behind the craftsmanship. Imagine a snowy cabin in the middle of a mountain forest; Inside, he sees the woodcarver at his trade waiting for spring to come. This is the bygone scene of an authentic Black Forest cuckoo clock. While most cuckoo clocks are German, many of them are made to appear as something they are not. They are not made by the snow-bound lumberjack like before.

If it really is a real Black Forest cuckoo clock, Why is the name of the craftsman nowhere to be found on the watch?

Identifying the manufacturer on the piece would ruin the merchant’s illusion of being an independent craftsman, thus diminishing the value appeal for tourists visiting Germany. Most manufacturers agree to leave their identifiers off of their products to help German merchants maintain this illusion.

Understandably, what little watch dealer wouldn’t want to be associated with such a rich heritage? Maybe they just “borrow” the image from days past and apply it to themselves. They will offer you a certificate stating that it is “Authentic Black Forest”, which it is, but you will still have to ask the question, “Who made it?”

What happens five to ten years from now when you no longer have a store receipt OR a certificate of authenticity? It will be almost impossible to identify the manufacturer years after its purchase. You may need to repair your watch, but you have no way of knowing where it actually came from.

There is only one exception to this.

So who can you trust?

Schneider Cuckoo Clocks is a company that stands out in the cuckoo clock industry; a watchmaker of true Black Forest heritage. In 1848, Anton Schneider began building cuckoo clocks at his country home in Schonach, Germany, and the family business he founded is now in its sixth generation.

Despite many innovations in manufacturing over the past 100 years, the ancient tradition of hand-carving still lives on at Schneider. Love of detail combined with ancient craftsmanship skills, even today, are the hallmarks of the new generation Schneider cuckoo clock.

After 160 years, Schneider is the oldest German watch company and the only cuckoo clock manufacturer to identify its name with its product. You will find the Schneider name prominently on the face of each watch, with the serial number stamped on the back. The serial number itself tells the story of your watch; that is, when it was made, its characteristics and the type of movement it has inside.

All of this is part of the Schneider advantage. When you have lost all the sales documentation, you can always simply recite your serial number to any Schneider service person around the world and they will know exactly what your watch needs. This is impossible with anyone but Schneider.

When considering the rich heritage of the cuckoo clock, if it is a “Black Forest” clock that interests you, really the only verifiable watchmaker today is Schneider.

Whether you are visiting the Black Forest region of Germany or just shopping online, be sure to buy a verifiable Schneider cuckoo clock. Peace of mind is knowing that you have an authentic item and that you can always find help no matter how long ago you bought your watch.