Hermle movement identification and information:
Hermle movements are the most used mechanical clock movements used in Grandfather clocks, as well as other wall and mantle clocks. We will show you how to identify if your movement is in fact a Hermle or another brand. On the bottom of this page, we have given you information on the history of Hermle.
Hermle made the bulk of movements for Grandfather clock manufacturers in the US. The Hermle Company made several models and variations of each one of their clock movements. Please note that Hermle made so many movements for some Grandfather clock manufacturers, that they imprinted the Grandfather clock manufacturers name on the movement and not their own. With that said, not all Hermle movements will say Hermle on them. Hermle made movements for Seth Thomas, Colonial, Sligh and many others. When looking at your old clocks movement, you might see one of these names on the back plate and not Hermle's name. Not to worry, each manufacturer of mechanical clock movements marked their movements differently and you will know when you have a Hermle in your clock as opposed to a Kieninger, Urgo's or any other movement.
Hermle made the bulk of movements for Grandfather clock manufacturers in the US. The Hermle Company made several models and variations of each one of their clock movements. Please note that Hermle made so many movements for some Grandfather clock manufacturers, that they imprinted the Grandfather clock manufacturers name on the movement and not their own. With that said, not all Hermle movements will say Hermle on them. Hermle made movements for Seth Thomas, Colonial, Sligh and many others. When looking at your old clocks movement, you might see one of these names on the back plate and not Hermle's name. Not to worry, each manufacturer of mechanical clock movements marked their movements differently and you will know when you have a Hermle in your clock as opposed to a Kieninger, Urgo's or any other movement.
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Looking at the picture to the right, you will see several markings that will determine what movement you have. This page is dedicated to Hermle movements. We have other pages dedicated to each movement manufacturer to help you with identifying other manufactures and movement models.
To first determine if you have a Hermle movement in your Grandfather clock, you will have to get to the back side of the movement. Some Grandfather clock case manufacturers made this easy by having a removable back panel on their clock cases. If you have one, simply remove the back by screws or by turning the plastic tabs out of the way for the back panel to come off. Some Grandfather clock case manufacturers made it a little more difficult. Before you go into too much work, many times you can remove the side panels on the clock case. Once you have removed them you may be able to take your phone camera and slide the phone behind the back side of the movement and take a picture of the clocks movement. Once you can see the back of the movement, you will see several markings on the back of the movement. Hermle's markings are on the right side bottom of the back plate. You will see the the name "Hermle". Under the name, you will see the model number of the Hermle movement, something like 1161-850. Under that, you will see numbers that will tell you the length of the pendulum used for that particular model. You should see something like 114cm, or 116cm. Again, that is the length of the pendulum used for that model clock movement. It is extremely important that when ordering a new Hermle movement, you have this number and order the same size. You cannot mix sizes of pendulums. The speed of a clock movement is determined by the length of the pendulum bob in relation to the top post of the movement. If you purchase a different size, you will never be able to regulate the speed of your clock and it will run too fast or too slow. You will see if you do have to order a new Hermle movement, we have all the sizes needed to replace your old one, we just need to know which one. At this point of your investigation and Grandfather Clock movement replacement, we are just trying to find out the maker of your movement. We will get into sizes and styles on another page. Hermle has chain driven movements, cable driven movements, and movements with different options on them. If your Hermle movement does not look like the one pictured, don't worry, we will guide you to the proper one on another page on our website. |
Again please do not pay attention to the actual picture of the movement, they vary so much. These pictures are just for you to understand where the information is located.
On the name, they might say Hermle, or they may have another brand there like Sligh, Seth Thomas, Colonial or several others. However, if they were made by Hermle, the new ones will say Hermle on them. The manufactured date was changed to letter codes in 1988. Therefore, if you see a letter A, your movement was made in 1988. After 2014 there will be 2 letters such as AA for 2014, AB for 2015, AC for 2016. Listed below is a list for Hermle's date code: In 1988, Hermle movements changed from a 2 digit date code to an alphabetic code for the date. You will find the date code by the movement number on the back plate of the clock. Please refer to an earlier post for understanding all of the numbers stamped in the back plate of your Hermle Movement Letter Date of Manufacture A 1988 B 1989 C 1990 D 1991 E 1992 F 1993 G 1994 H 1995 I 1996 J 1997 K 1998 L 1999 M 2000 N 2001 O 2002 P 2003 Q 2004 R 2005 S 2006 T 2007 U 2008 V 2009 W 2010 X 2011 Y 2012 Z 2013 When ordering a new movement, you should get the latest version as possible. Most of the time, Hermle runs about 8 months to a year behind on shipping their movements. You will not see AD (2017) movements until late in the year, so you would still receive the AC (2016) If you have determined you have a Hermle movement, you can click here to go to the ordering page. There we have additional information on ordering a replacement Hermle movement for your Grandfather clock. |