How a nondescript service shop in Bombay became a cocoon for some of the world's most stunning vintage timepieces

In 1949, a hardboiled Harry Lime, played by Orson Welles in The Third Man, uttered some of the most memorable dialogues of all time:

"In Italy, for 30 years under the Borgias, they had warfare, terror, murder, bloodshed. But they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and the Renaissance. In Switzerland, they had brotherly love, 500 years of democracy and peace. What did they produce? The cuckoo clock."

The people of the Black Forest province wouldn't be pleased – more so because of their cultural icon being attributed as Swiss rather than German. For it was sometime in 1737, in the quaint village of Schoenwald, that clockmaker Franz Ketterer created a timepiece as synonymous with Germanic craftsmanship and engineering as the cars they'd later produce…

…or so they say. Differences abound over whether Ketterer was the original maker of the cuckoo clock, but there's no doubt these timepieces reached their handcrafted zenith in the Black Forest. The earliest pieces – Schilduhr or shield clocks – had simpler designs than today's meticulously-sculpted variants: painted semicircles housed the characteristic cuckoo atop a square clock face. But in the 19th century, elaborate carvings from linden wood depicting wildlife, foliage and chalets were a norm. The once-wooden guts of the clocks evolved into brass mechanisms.

The most intricate clocks can take a year to make, with different craftsmen for cuckoos, figurines, roof shingles, leaves and gears. In an era of battery-operated everythings, a mechanical, hand-wound timepiece is a treasure. Which is why quartz mechanisms just won't do. Original cuckoo clocks, certified by the Black Forest Clock Association, cost anywhere between 100-7000 Euros depending on size, detailing and features like a 'night shut off'.

All in the family

The most reputed cuckoo clock makers – August Schwer, Anton Schneider, Hubert Herr, Rombach & Haas, Drubba, Trenkle Uhren, Hekas and Hoenes – have been family-owned for generations.
So too is one of only two cuckoo clock service stations in India.

Over 11,000 km away from the pristine climes of Black Forest, a 60-year-old shop stands at a cacophonous traffic junction in Bombay's tony Cumballa Hill. Well Known Watch House, manned by Ikram and Imran Khan, was founded by their father Anwar Khan at a time when luxury and pocket watches, fusee timepieces and lavish wall clocks were greater hallmarks of prestige than they are today. It was the only cuckoo clock service centre in the country before Bangalore's Kismet Watch Company got on the roster some 12 years ago.

"Descendants from royal families in Rajasthan and Gujarat, who had antique clocks, would come here as there were no service shops in their native places," shares Ikram. The Parsis, he adds, too owned phenomenal vintage timepieces.

French carriage clocks – first created for Napoleon Bonaparte in 1812 – are at home here as they once were on mantelpieces. As are the Cartier Mystery and the Atmos, manufactured by Switzerland's Jaegar-LeCoultre. The Atmos runs on atmospheric pressure and doesn't require human intervention for decades if maintained well.
Time stands still in this otherwise nondescript service shop, and yet, it doesn't. The Khans have a mission to keep time ticking in the tokens of a bygone era. Their staff of six is small, but well-oiled, and Well Known Watch House intends keeping it that way because servicemen today are clueless about old mechanisms, feels Imran.

Handle with care

"If you've been in the business long enough, you can tell one cuckoo clock brand from another because their styles are so distinctive," he says. "We get an average of 8-10 queries a week, most of which can be resolved over the phone. In a month, 7-8 pieces come from across the country for repairs."

The increasing buying power of Indians has boosted the cuckoo clock's popularity. Even then, says Ikram, many are ignorant about basic maintenance. "In Bombay, they should be serviced every four-five years. We usually give demos so people have basic know-how. But one client didn't even know these clocks have to be levelled on a wall," he shakes his head.

Every mechanism in a cuckoo clock is intertwined, whether it's the melodies (German folk songs Der froehliche Wanderer, Edelweiss and Trink, Bruederlein Trink are favourites), automata (moving trains, dancing figurines, water wheels, even wives beating up husbands), the cuckoo chime powered by air chambers/bellows, or the weights to be adjusted every day or week. A snag in one, if unattended, can affect the whole timepiece. Even then, these clocks last a lifetime.

"The most exquisite clock I've serviced was so old, it had wooden gears," smiles Ikram. "It took 6-8 months, but it was worth it because you just don't see art like that anymore."

As if on cue, a cuckoo clock chimes at the dot of four, and a clock is delivered to the shop from Vadodara. As cars and buses honk maddeningly outside, it's business as usual in the cocoon that's Well Known Watch House.


Ikram Khan's tips on care and maintenance for cuckoo clocks in India:

Perfect levelling of a cuckoo clock is paramount before you place it on the wall

Avoid placing a clock in an area susceptible to strong breezes or winds, as its chains/weights may get entangled or distorted due to constant movement.

If you need to set the time or tighten the clock hands, do so by turning the nut or the centre, not the hands themselves

While adjusting/hand-winding the clock weight, hold the other weight or chain (i.e. give it some support) so that it doesn't get distorted

Use a soft cloth, brush, or vacuum for cleaning. Avoid cleaning liquids, whether oil-based or not. Service your clock once every 4-5 years at an authorised Black Forest cuckoo clock service station-

Well Known Watch House: (Ikram and Imran Khan) Shop No.15, Warden Court Building, Gowalia Tank, Cumballa Hill, Mumbai-400036. Tel: (022) 23805139

Kismet Watch Company: (Pankaj and Vivek Parekh) Opp. Old Majestic Theatre, Next to Upparpet Police Station, Bangalore- 560009. Tel: (080) 22914732, 22386917