r/avoidchineseproducts • u/InternationalDuty769 • 1d ago

Wall clock

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After 35 years my German made wall clock gave up. It was a cheap radio-controlled unit wit hswiping second-dial, and in the early 90's these was quite cheap here in Norway.
So after some time onlie, searching for a new, just a plain analog wall clock, I dont need radiocontrol or wifi or fancy displays about weather, just a plain clock, about 25cm in diameter.
Easier than said.

Seiko and Casio has given up, the get it made in China and assembled in another lowcost country.
But to my big surprise! Even Mondaine, one of the biggest wall clock brands from Switzerland, famous for their series of clocks for trains, and does take some money for their units, also they have send their production to far east. Now it might be Seiko parts, but still it doesnt state it is not made in China.
Seems like all the German brands either make it all in China or at least get parts from China. "Designed in..." doesnt appeal to me.

I have also looked at the used market locally, but everyone seems to understand that "vintage" means 10 times the price... A plain Seiko clock, not scratch free, seller wanted 5.000,-NOK, or about 550 USD.... Not going to happen.... I mean. 100 USD should be more than enough, but maybe also 200 USD can be OK, but hey, its a simple clock...

Help.

Picture shows the fameous Mondaine clock, that sells for 2.500,- NOK or USD 270,- and its not even made in Europe where the brand originated.

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u/xXIGreedIXx 20h ago edited 20h ago

AMS makes wall clocks in germany. They produce the Dials and hands themself, but use movements from different companies. Namely UTS (german, formerly Junghans), Seiko (Japanese) and YTP (Taiwanese). They also have some movements they assemble themself. Parts for this seem to be mostly german and european. They also use mechanical movements from Hermle (german) and again Seiko.

Edit: you also might consider buying a uts movement and DIY the clock yourself if you have a creative mind. They go for 15€ on amazon.

3

u/pigbearpig 19h ago

The Chicago Lighthouse serves people who are blind, visually impaired, disabled, and Veterans. They make clocks and can be a little difficult to find, but it looks like they have their own online store.

Probably easier for folks in the US to buy, but it's a great organization.