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Can't find your answer? Contact us: a real person replies within 24 to 48 hours.
All of our cuckoo clocks are made in Germany, by Trenkle (Simonswald), Hönes (Titisee-Neustadt), Sternreiter and Rombach & Haas (Schonach). Each product page names the maker.
The VdS (Verein die Schwarzwalduhr, the Black Forest Clock Association) certifies mechanical cuckoo clocks whose essential parts are made in the Black Forest. We show "VdS certified" only on the models whose maker lists the certificate. Quartz clocks are never VdS certified, because the VdS only certifies mechanical clocks.
A quartz clock runs on batteries: nothing to wind. A 1-day mechanical clock runs on weights; you pull the chains once a day. An 8-day mechanical clock also runs on weights, but one winding lasts about a week. Our buying guide explains which one fits you.
A mechanical cuckoo clock is a small machine built largely by hand: a brass movement, bellows, wooden whistles, a carved or painted case, and on musical models a Swiss music box. That work is why a real mechanical clock starts around $200. Our clocks range from $139 (German quartz) to $2,619.
You can, but then you have to carry a fragile box home or have it shipped internationally. We sell clocks from the same German makers, shipped from within the United States: free shipping to the 48 states, delivered in 2 to 5 business days after 1 to 2 days of preparation, and no customs or import fees to pay.
A well-kept mechanical cuckoo clock lasts for decades, and many are handed down. Like any mechanical clock, it benefits from a cleaning and oiling by a clock repairer, typically every three to five years or as the maker advises. Chains, weights, bellows and pendulums can be replaced; we sell the common ones in Parts & Care.
Most cuckoo clocks call on every hour, counting the hours (one call at 1 o'clock, twelve at 12 o'clock), and many add a single call on the half hour. Our Trenkle quartz clocks call on the full hour. Each product page says when the clock calls.
On many models, yes. Each product page tells you which night shut-off the clock has: an automatic light sensor, a manual lever, or a switch that silences the cuckoo. When the maker does not list one, the page says so. See all cuckoo clocks with a night shut-off.
Once a day on a 1-day clock, once a week on an 8-day clock. Pull the free end of each chain slowly, straight down, until the weight is back near the case. Quartz clocks have no chains to pull.
Hang one weight on the hook of each chain. On most clocks with two weights, both weights are identical, so it does not matter which goes where. On musical clocks the weights can differ, and the maker usually marks them. If in doubt, email us a photo of the weights and the chains.
Almost always because the clock is not "in beat": the tick and the tock are not evenly spaced. Listen to it, then nudge the bottom of the case slightly left or right until the tick-tock sounds even. Also check that the case sits flat against the wall and that nothing touches the pendulum or the weights.
Turn the minute hand only, clockwise, and let the cuckoo finish calling each time you pass the hour or the half hour (and the music, on a musical clock). Never turn the hour hand on its own on a mechanical clock.
Slide the pendulum bob down a little to slow the clock, up to speed it up. Make small changes and check again after a day.
Yes. Email us a photo or a short video of the clock ticking and a real person will answer within 24 to 48 hours, Monday to Friday.
Shipping is free on every order to the 48 contiguous states and Washington, D.C. We do not ship to Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. territories, APO/FPO addresses or P.O. boxes.
Orders are prepared in 1 to 2 business days, then delivered in 2 to 5 business days. Every order ships with tracking.
No. Your order ships from within the United States, so there are no customs or import fees to pay. Applicable state sales tax, if any, is shown at checkout.
In two boxes: the maker's box, with the pendulum and the weights wrapped separately, inside a padded shipping box.
Email us within 48 hours of delivery at contact@cuckoochalet.com, with photos of the box and the clock, and keep the packaging. We will send a replacement or refund you in full, your choice, subject to availability, and we pay any return shipping.
Yes, within 14 days of delivery, in new condition, with all its parts and its original packaging. Email us first for instructions. Return shipping is paid by you if you changed your mind. Refunds are issued within 10 days of receiving and inspecting the item. Read the Refund & Return Policy.
We do not offer a separate written warranty. Broken, defective or wrong items are handled under our Refund & Return Policy, and nothing in it limits your rights under the law.
The makers do not list batteries as included, so plan to use your own: two AA batteries for most of our quartz clocks, two C batteries for the Bertina.