Gordian Hettich Furtwangen Clocks Age Determination
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Who was Gordian Hettich?
| Point | information |
|---|---|
| Name: | Gordian Hettich (sons) – watchmaking family from Furtwangen (Black Forest) |
| Period: | Active from approximately 1820 to 1930 (various generations) |
| Seats: | Furtwangen – later also Triberg / St. Georgen |
| Task: | Precision, tower and wall clocks; from the late 19th century, clock factory “G. Hettich Söhne” |
| Production: | Mechanical clocks and watches – observatory and marine chronometers, later also cuckoo and regulator clocks |
| Export: | Germany / Switzerland / Scandinavia – many watches delivered to the Imperial Navy network |
Serial numbers and serial numbers
Surviving company and museum records (Furtwangen, Glashütte, London) show that Gordian Hettich Söhne numbered the clocks consecutively , especially the precision pendulum clock movements and marine chronometers .
| Serial number (approx.) | Production time / series | Typical watches |
|---|---|---|
| Nos. 1 – 100 | 1825 – 1850 | Early precision pendulum clock, wood and brass movement, signed "G. Hettich Furtwangen" |
| Nos. 100 – 300 | 1850 – 1880 | Regulators, astronomical clocks, occasionally “G. Hettich Söhne” |
| Nos. 300 – 600 | 1880 – 1910 | Table and marine chronometers, fine skeletonization, precision escapements |
| Nos. 600 – 900 | 1910 – 1930 (late period) | Modern construction, nickel-steel circuit boards, series with "GH Söhne – Furtwangen" signature |
Engraving and style features as a dating aid
| feature | Temporal assignment |
|---|---|
| Engraving “Gordian Hettich” with a curved “G” – without “Söhne” | 1825 – 1860 |
| Engraving “G. Hettich Söhne – Furtwangen” | 1860 – 1910 |
| Stamped inscription “G. Hettich Söhne Uhrenfabrik” | after about 1900 |
| Work with wooden circuit boards | before 1850 |
| Brass work, made according to Glashütte design | 1880–1900 |
| Silver regulator scale in the number ring | from 1890 |
| English marine chronometer cases with double case | ca. 1900–1915 |
Typical watches by era
| epoch | Types of watches |
|---|---|
| 1820–1850 | Tower and wall regulators, astronomical room clocks |
| 1850–1890 | 1-second regulators, miniature precision watches |
| 1890–1915 | Marine chronometers, laboratory clockworks |
| 1920s | smaller electromechanical prototypes (very rare) |
Gordian Hettich was born in 1825, the son of clockmaker Gregorius Hettich (1786–1861) and his wife Gertrud Siedle. His father, Gregorius, came from a wealthy family in a neighboring village of Furtwangen . His grandfather, Antonius, was an industrial clockmaker, and his grandmother, Helena, née von Marck, came from a noble family that had since died out.
Gordian grew up in Furtwangen and was involved in his father's work from a young age.
Hettich was awarded the Teutonic Order around 1865. From then on, he also called himself Gordian Ritter von Hettich.
Life as an entrepreneur
As a young man, Gordian Hettich ran a general store from his house in Furtwangen . Later, he established a watch packing and wholesale watch business there. From the late 1850s onward, Gordian maintained a stall selling watch components on the Kurpromenade in Baden-Baden . Hettich's customers included the major watch manufacturers Theodor Ketterer and Johann Baptist Beha .
In 1854, Hettich became a partner in the clock face and tin sign factory Dold & Hettich , headquartered in Furtwangen . He was also a co-founder of the Baden Clock Factory . In 1858, Gordian Hettich was honored in Villingen-Schwenningen for "his efforts to bring tasteful clocks to market." His breakthrough as a manufacturer came at the Vienna World's Fair in 1873. There, he exhibited a wide range of clocks and gained considerable acclaim. He produced under the pseudonym "Gordian Hettich Sohn" (Gordian Hettich Son). In 1880, Gordian's son, Hermann Hettich, took over the family business and continued to run it in his father's spirit.
