Heco 400 day clock question

[RLM]

I've got my grandmother's Heco anniversary clock, but the manual she had is for a Kundo. This Heco is the clock she always had as far back as I can remember, which would be the late 1960's, and in the Kundo manual she wrote that it was given to her by my grandfather on their anniversary in 1953, so I'm a little confused. Did Kundo by chance make Heco clocks? Its either that or her original Kundo got replaced by the Heco at some point.

Oh, one other thing. The picture on the front of the Kundo manual is exactly like the Heco clock.

[lesbradley]

I've got my grandmother's Heco anniversary clock, but the manual she had is for a Kundo. This Heco is the clock she always had as far back as I can remember, which would be the late 1960's, and in the Kundo manual she wrote that it was given to her by my grandfather on their anniversary in 1953, so I'm a little confused. Did Kundo by chance make Heco clocks? Its either that or her original Kundo got replaced by the Heco at some point.

Oh, one other thing. The picture on the front of the Kundo manual is exactly like the Heco clock.

Heco is short for Henry Coehler & Co. They brought clocks into the USA from various manufacturers,including Kundo but primarily Kern & Sohne. A picture of the backplate would ensure we correctly identified the clock.

[RLM]

Thanks Les, no pics. At the moment its being serviced and I won't have it back for a week or so. I'll post pics when I get it back. It was running for 5 or 6 months then stopping. I'd start the pendulum again and it would run another couple of months then stop again. Lately it'll only run a few weeks and when I restart the pendulum it'll run a couple days and stop. I figured it was time to have it cleaned and adjusted.

So Heco was only an importer and not a manufacturer? I'd always thought my dad had brought this back from Germany when he got out of the army in '53, for my grandad to give my grandmother, but if Heco was a US importer, then I guess not. There are so many little things like that that you wish you'd asked when you had the chance. My dad died a few years ago and his brother died just recently, and my grandparents have been gone a long time. Now there's no one left to ask these little questions when they pop up. At least I did find out from my uncle that the old kitchen clock my grandparents had, and that I now have, was inherited from my grandad's mother.

[shutterbug]

I'd always thought my dad had brought this back from Germany when he got out of the army in '53, for my granddad to give my grandmother, but if Heco was a US importer, then I guess not.

That little fact does not necessarily mean that your story is wrong. Many of these clocks were bought by servicemen ON BASE from their PX. So, they could potentially be imported to US, then shipped to the PX from there to be bought and sent back to the US by mail :). My guess is that this was a fairly common scenario.

[John Hubby]

I can confirm what Shutterbug says about the U.S. military PX stores. They bought clocks both from distributors such as Heco and also directly from the factories, then had them shipped to wherever. In the instance of Heco clocks, I suspect the military most likely had a contract with Heco, who then placed the orders with their supplier for delivery to the PX stores.

As far as I know Heco never made any clocks even though you will find all kinds of them with the Heco label. I have a 1973 Heco catalog that has just about every imaginable type of clock except grandfather clocks, plus a section of German beer steins, musical jewelry, and other stuff. Clocks made by Kern, Kundo, Schmid-Schlenker, Staiger, are easily recognizable.

My judgement is that your clock was made by Kundo for Heco and the instruction book is original with the clock.

John Hubby
>>>>

[RLM]

Thanks Shutterbug and Pastimes. So my dad could have very well brought it back from Germany. Well, that's my story anyway, and I can stick to it now with some confidence. Can't wait to get it back. The space where it was sitting is looking a little bare. I actually had it regulated to about 2 minutes fast every 4-5 months. I hear that's unusual for an anniversary clock. I hope once its clean and everything is turning easier that it'll still be that accurate.

[shutterbug]

And now consider it your privilege (and duty) to pass the clock and it's story down to your kids. Put it in writing .... it's a family treasure :)

[Kevin W.]

RLM, 2 mins in about 4 months is quite good.
And yes record the clock,s family history and keep it with the clock. I wish this had been done in my family.:)

[RLM]

I've got two of my grandmother's clocks, the Heco and a New Haven Camden (I think) kitchen clock that she got from my great grandma, who I never met. As well as my granddad's Hamilton PW that he used as a train engineer and his dad's Waltham. I'm soon to be 44 and wife's a couple years older and kids weren't an option, so the clocks and watches will go to my cousins' kids. I keep all the family history stuff with our wills so those who inherit will know what's what and where it came from. Unfortunately there's not much written family history left. My grandmtoher had Alzheimers and got hold of the OLD OLD family Bible with family tree in the front and started "correcting" it. By the time anyone realized what she was doing, the damage was irreversible.

[RLM]

OK, I've got it back now. Here's a pic of the back. in upper left below the screws it says Henry Coehler & Co.... and has their logo below that. In upper right it says made in West Germany and below that No (0) Jewels Unadjusted. Can anyone tell me for sure if this is in fact a Kundo?

[ChuckR]

RLM,
Looking up your back plate, It is 1214C in the 400 day book and it indicates that it was made by Kieninger and Obergfell which is KUNDO. Hpoe this helps.

Chuck

[RLM]

Thanks Chuck. It didn't hit me until I was reading your response that KUNDO is K und O as in Keininger and Obergfell. I'd always thought Kundo and Keininger and Obergfell where two different companies.

[MRKennedy]

Can anyone tell me how to wind and care for my Henry Coehler dome clock? I don't have the key and I don't have the original manual.

Thanks
MRKennedy





I've got my grandmother's Heco anniversary clock, but the manual she had is for a Kundo. This Heco is the clock she always had as far back as I can remember, which would be the late 1960's, and in the Kundo manual she wrote that it was given to her by my grandfather on their anniversary in 1953, so I'm a little confused. Did Kundo by chance make Heco clocks? Its either that or her original Kundo got replaced by the Heco at some point.

Oh, one other thing. The picture on the front of the Kundo manual is exactly like the Heco clock.

[shutterbug]

Can anyone tell me how to wind and care for my Henry Coehler dome clock? I don't have the key and I don't have the original manual.

Thanks
MRKennedy
Can you measure the key square for us? You'll need accuracy, so use a micrometer, digital caliper, something like that. Then we can tell you what key to order (or buy a local clock shop).

[NECCnut]

On the back plate it has a K and O in a little circle, that is the Kundo logo at least as used post war. It is a Kundo.


Thanks Chuck. It didn't hit me until I was reading your response that KUNDO is K und O as in Keininger and Obergfell. I'd always thought Kundo and Keininger and Obergfell where two different companies.

-> posts merged by system <-
You will need a key. If it is a full-size Kundo like the one in this thread, it will most likely have a 4.5 mm key. You can look for those on eBay. They are easy to come by. If the clock is wound, the pendulum is started by carefully and lightly pushing the pendulum balls in one direction. They should reverse and come the other direction. The clock is running correctly if it sustains this motion indefinitely. If the clock runs for a few minutes and then stops, it is probably out of beat. Correcting that situation is a little more involved. Other than being wound and in beat, the clock must be perfectly level so the pendulum does not rub on any part of the clock. It must swing free. If it is not keeping good time, there is an adjustment on the knurled pendulum knob that may be adjusted for fast or slow (A--R). The best way to do this is to stop the pendulum and always adjust from fast to slow, rather than the other way around. Hope this helps.


Can anyone tell me how to wind and care for my Henry Coehler dome clock? I don't have the key and I don't have the original manual.

Thanks
MRKennedy