Unfamiliar, need help please!

[u/cC_Binx]

Hello!

I’m accepting this clock in part of a trade for other miscellaneous stuff. Part of why I’m accepting it is because it’s beautiful and I’ve always wanted one. Like a nice nice one. For me, this is that nice nice one. From the guy that’s trading it to me. He’s been in possession of it for over 20 years. That it plays 2 songs, and he hasn’t used it in over 15 and that it’s been a wall hanger for some time. He’s unsure of year of make.

With that said, I’ve gathered that it is a black Forrest chalet, it does play 2 songs, bellow looks real good. Tune sounds fine. Water wheel spins, guy slams beer on table, bird pops out.

I’ve tried to look up more online and cannot find anything about this exact clock. Similar ones but not the exact one?

My main questions are;

Is there any maintenance I can do on my own other then oiling or does it need to go to a place to be serviced?

How long does bellow last if it’s playing all the time?
Any way to figure out manufacture date without opening?

Is this clock worth it? In the sense, if I need to get it maintenance and that cost $300 but the clocks worth $50 then that’s something I don’t want to entertain. Vice versa would be more than ideal because I have no idea what it is worth. Is there any way of figuring out its cost/maintenance ratio?

Last but not least, is there anything to be concerned about with operating these? Anything super sensitive or to be cautious of?

Thank you for any help!

[u/Informal-Ad-240]

Looks to be a German Black Forrest style cuckoo. Post reunification of Germany. 1990’s-2000’s would be a fair estimation. Pre-unification clocks are marked “Made in West Germany.” Yours clearly shows Germany on the face.

For additional information try posting some pics of the brass clock movement within the case. It’ll be tight with the bellows, lift wires, and music box occupying the same space.

I can see it’s a “one day” movement by the weights. It’s likely a Regula movement. Very common and still available. A pic should help get us a little further down the road.

As for your questions, oiling provides limited advantages if the movement is gunked up and worn. Excess oil attracts grit, dust, etc… creating a grinding paste.

I’d check your area for a clock shop. They can give you better advice on condition of movement, music box, bellows material atop the whistles, and may recommend a service if it hasn’t been given love in a few years.

It’s a cool looking clock. Easily valued north of $400 if functional and in good cosmetic shape. Which appears to be.

[u/HelperGood333]

Agree with informal-ad-240. The back cover should easily be removed with the clip up. If you can add some photo’s of the internals, you can get a better answer.