Clocks · Alarm clock
Alarm clock by Ruhla, c. between 1980 and 82
- Maker / attribution
- Ruhla (Maker)
- Date
- c. between 1980 and 82
- Historical period
- Quartz Revolution (1969 – 1990)
- Country of origin
- Unrecorded in source
- Object type
- Alarm clock
- Materials / technique
- Kunststoff Metall Kunstleder
- Dimensions
- Höhe: 2,4 cm
- Holding institution
- Museum of City History Leipzig
- Accession / object no.
- V/3146/2005(Inventarnummer) | Z0033093
- Credit line
- Museum of City History Leipzig
- Catalogue title (original)
- Wecker (German)
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Record summary
Held and catalogued by Museum of City History Leipzig (object number V/3146/2005(Inventarnummer) | Z0033093), this is an alarm clock by Ruhla, dated c. between 1980 and 82. The Atlas places it in the Quartz Revolution period (1969 – 1990) of its Clocks collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: Kunststoff Metall Kunstleder. Recorded dimensions: Höhe: 2,4 cm. The record is illustrated with 1 photograph.
Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.
Catalogue description
Catalogue description from Museum of City History Leipzig
Midimatic Wecker aus Ruhla mit rotem Kunstlederetui; batteriebetrieben, aus schwarzem Kunststoff, rechteckig, auf der rechten Seite das Ziffernblatt, an dem der Zeiger zum Einstellen der Weckzeit mit einem drehbarem Plastikring eingestellt werden kann; das Ziffernblatt ist schwarz mit weißen Zahlen, auf dem Ziffernblatt steht "ruhla" und "ANTIMAGNETIC"; an der rechten Seite ein Rad zum Aufziehen des Uhrwerks; linke Vorderseite durchbrochene Oberfläche und darunter steht silberfarben "midimatic"; links an der Seite ein roter Schalter zum Ein- und Ausschalten des Wecktons; die Rückwand des Weckers lässt sich entfernen, um eine Batterie einzulegen, , auf der Rückwand ein Aufkleber mit der Aufschrift: "ruhla [...] EVP 48,80"; Dr. Rothe hat den Wecker um 1980/82 in Rudolstadt gekauft
Shown in the original language of the source catalogue. An editor-reviewed English translation has not yet been published; we do not publish machine translations as authoritative text.
Historical context
Quartz Revolution (1969 – 1990)
Seiko's Astron begins mass quartz timekeeping; traditional industries contract sharply.
Quartz movements and digital displays made accurate clocks cheap and ubiquitous after the early 1970s. LED and LCD clocks, clock radios and radio-controlled clocks appeared, while traditional mechanical clockmaking contracted sharply in Germany, France and Britain.
Read the period in the timelineMore clocks from this periodEarlier: Modern Mechanical Horology
Atlas type guide
Alarm clocks
Alarm work is among the oldest clock functions: monastic clocks woke monks for night prayers, and Renaissance table clocks often carried an alarm disc set by a pin. A separate spring or weight is released at the set time and drives a hammer against a bell. Some early alarms also lit a candle by striking a flint — the 'tinder pistol' alarm.
The cheap, mass-produced alarm clock arrived in the second half of the nineteenth century. American firms such as Seth Thomas and Westclox (the 'Big Ben' of 1910) and German makers such as Junghans and Kienzle made millions of drum-shaped alarms with pin-pallet escapements. Electric, quartz and digital alarm clocks followed in the twentieth century.
What to look for
- A separate alarm-setting dial or disc and an extra winding key.
- Twin bells on top (common after c. 1920) or a bell enclosed in the base.
- Pin-pallet escapements in inexpensive factory alarms.
- Trademarks and patent dates on dial or back.
Dating clues
- Renaissance alarm table clocks: sixteenth to seventeenth centuries.
- Drum alarm clocks: from the 1870s.
- Luminous dials with radium paint: c. 1910–1960.
General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.
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