Hermle Clocks (Franz Hermle & Sohn)
Founded in 1922 and still run by the Hermle family, this German firm makes the mechanical movements found inside many modern floor, wall and mantel clocks.
A movement maker from the Swabian Jura
Franz Hermle founded his clock company in 1922 in Gosheim, in the Württemberg region of southwest Germany. According to the collector reference Antique Clock Guy, by the early 1930s the firm was already one of the leading makers of quality clock movements.
Franz Hermle died in 1953 and left the business to his four sons, Gebhard, Alfred, Hans and Heinrich, and the firm took the name Franz Hermle & Sohn. The family has stayed in charge since. The company describes itself as a fourth-generation family business, and a 2024 report in the regional newspaper Schwäbische Zeitung named Dominik Hermle as the fourth generation, with his father Rolf still at work in the firm every day.
For much of its history the work was split between towns. Antique Clock Guy describes main plants in Gosheim and Reichenbach, with Reichenbach making most of the component parts for mechanical movements, and puts the workforce at over 500 people across four German sites plus the Virginia operation. Those figures predate the slimmer company described in 2024.
What Hermle makes
Hermle's core product is the clock movement itself. Antique Clock Guy lists mechanical and quartz movements, dials, pendulums and decorative weight shells, plus electronic 400-day clocks and radio-controlled clocks, and says Hermle exports clocks and movements to more than 100 countries. The company itself names grandfather, table and wall clocks, mechanical movements and precision turned parts as its three lines.
Hermle also sells finished clocks. A 1950 Hermle mantel clock documented by C. Hamann, hosted by a Berlin university, has three winding points, eight hammers for quarter chimes and a selector for Whittington, St. Michael or Westminster tunes. The Schwäbische Zeitung describes a current range running from children's quartz wall clocks to the Tellurium, an astronomical clock with Westminster quarter chimes invented by Richard Hermle.
The same 2024 report notes that the turned parts go into medical technology, pneumatics, furniture and aircraft.
See also: how Whittington, St. Michael and Westminster chimes differ on OnlineClock.app.
How to read a Hermle movement
Antique Clock Guy explains that the year of manufacture is stamped on the lower right of the movement's back plate. Before 1988 it appears as two digits, so 79 means 1979. From 1988 a letter was used instead, starting with A for 1988 and running through the alphabet, so M means 2000 and W means 2010. The movement supplier Clockworks continues the chart: Z stands for 2013, and from 2014 two letters are used, AA for 2014 through AF for 2019, where its chart stops.
The back plate also carries the model number, the pendulum length and the beat rate. Older movements are marked FHS, for Franz Hermle & Sohn, and the 1950 clock documented by C. Hamann is marked Uhrenfabrik FRANZ HERMLE, Gosheim (Schwarzwald), Germany. Antique Clock Guy warns that a Hermle movement may carry another company's name or logo, so the layout of the stamps matters as much as the brand name.
See also: swapping out a tired mechanical or quartz movement on OnlineClock.app.
Hermle today
According to the Schwäbische Zeitung, Hermle has made its clocks only in Reichenbach am Heuberg since 2001, where it employed about 110 people in 2024. Its American subsidiary, Hermle North America in Amherst, Virginia, dates from 1977, as the company's own site confirms; the newspaper put its staff at 53 and said it also makes furniture for the US military and hotel chains.
The newspaper describes the company's 102-year history as one of ups and downs, and notes that it struggles to find enough skilled workers. The Reichenbach plant runs three shifts, six days a week, using about 80 computer-controlled machines.
Recent products include a licensed clock for the VfB Stuttgart football club, sold through the club's fan shop, Hermle's website and the factory outlet.
Questions people ask
How do I tell how old my Hermle clock is?
Look at the back plate of the movement, usually at the lower right. Two digits such as 79 give the year directly. A single letter means 1988 or later, with A for 1988, M for 2000 and Z for 2013; two letters, starting with AA, mean 2014 or later.
Is Hermle still in business?
Yes. As of its 2024 coverage and its current website, Hermle is still family-run, with production in Reichenbach am Heuberg, Germany, and a US subsidiary in Amherst, Virginia.
What does FHS on a clock movement mean?
FHS stands for Franz Hermle & Sohn, the company name used after Franz Hermle's sons took over in 1953. It appears on older Hermle movements.