Analog Chess Clock!

Hello EfimLG47... I think you're probably correct that the Yantar variants names are related to the areas in which the clocks were marketed and the corresponding distributors name. Thanks for the photos. I like the yellow color of the Marathon and here's a couple of photos of others with a non -white color that are for sale on the Etsy.com website at this moment...

Hi Gordon, thanks for the additional photos. I saw them and was wondering whether these are original colours. I have my doubts. They look as if they were subsequently coloured with some fancy lacquer. Doesn't look bad though. Best, Holger

Hi Holger. I was thinking the same thing but now I believe that they left the factory that way because of the same colors behind the glass and metal strip. It seems it would have been a lot of work to do that after leaving the factory as the metal strip would also have to be removed for such a good job and it doesn't show any signs of having been pried off the frame. Maybe it is paint over a white frame, though, but factory applied before the metal strip was pressed on. Is your Marathon a yellow plastic?

Hi madmacs back!  Thanks for joining the conversation. I own one of the white Jantars and just can't see how that metal strip can be removed without incurring some sort of visible damage. There's just no way to removing it from the frame without prying it off. Also, both the blue and red clocks have the exact same quality of the finish. Maybe the clocks were bought in an unassembled state or were done by one of the factory workers to keep for himself. Perhaps I should buy the blue one!!    Gordon W

Hi again, macmacs...    I took another look at the pictures of the Armaph blue clock and have now confirmed to myself that it's definitely a blue paint job over an original white plastic case. You can see bits of the white plastic showing through on the angled feet which have contacted various surfaces over the years. Here's an enlarged photo...

However I'm absolutely sure the paint was applied by someone who did the job before the metal strip was applied and most likely at the factory - thus a factory worker.  Not that any of this is that important but it does give these two clocks a somewhat "special" status IMHO!  Best wishes, Gordon W

How old are those clocks now?

Chessroboto, they are from possibly the late seventies and definitely the eighties. Oh .... I just bought his red Jantar - this thread has gotten the better of me - lol!  Perhaps the seller will know more specifics about when and where his colored Jantars and Armaphs were painted. Stay tuned! I also just noticed he has two other clocks of this type for sale as well - a black one and one in a lighter shade of blue. They are shown in his store listings and are also extremely well done.

Gordon W

It's been 30 years. Time to perform the recommended maintenance on those clocks. "Check!"

Right you are, chessroboto!

No, that used to be a white one as well, but the plastic has taken on some kind of yellowish shade.

I'll throw in another fine clock, which is one of my all time favorites. One of the finest chess clocks ever produced in my opinion, yet not widespread and rather rare. It is a Fichter clock, made in Villingen, a small town in the southwest of Germany, home to several of the most prestigious clock manufacturers in the world. After the second world war, Fritz Fichter worked in his father's clock factory Fichter & Hackenjos until 1948, before he opened his own watch factory in 1949 under the company name Uhrenfabrik Goldbühl Fritz Fichter KG ("Goldenbühl" is a district of Villingen, i.e. it is possible that this part of the company name can be traced back to this). In 1952, Fichter & Hackenjos discontinued watch production, while the business of Uhrenfabrik Goldbühl Fritz Fichter KG developed positively and became one of the largest suppliers, especially in the field of alarm clock production. At its peak, the company employed 800 people and had an annual turnover of 8 million German marks (which corresponds to a current value of about 12 million US$).

With the advent of quartz movements at the beginning of the seventies, numerous watch manufacturers began to struggle. The well-known Villingen company Kaiser-Uhren filed for bankruptcy in 1974. Fichter KG tried to stabilize its business through the then owner Sigrid Ginter and made an offer for the acquisition of the special movements for the production of the double bell alarm clock from the bankrupt's estate. This was seen as an opportunity to regain a foothold in the German mail-order business, especially with the large mail-order company Quelle. At that time the GDR sold alarm clocks and other watches - mainly manufactured by Uhrenmanufaktur Ruhla (UMF Ruhla), the manufacturer of the famous Ruhla Gardé chess clock - at dumping prices via the large department store groups in Germany. In 1974 the GDR (via UMF Ruhla) had sold 872,000 movements to the Federal Republic of Germany alone, an increase of 53% compared to 1973. However, the offer of Fichter KG was not taken into account by the receiver Prof. Dr. Hellmuth Fischer, but the entire tool package was sold to UMF Ruhla, because the GDR company had offered more money. As a result, Fichter KG also ceased operations in 1976 and filed for bankruptcy.

Chess clocks can therefore only have been produced at Fichter in the short period between 1950 and 1976. The clocks themselves are of an outstanding quality and belong to the best that has ever been produced in the field of compact chess clocks. In my opinion the watches are at least as good, maybe even better, than the well-known Looping and Solora models.

The model I purchased is in perfect mint condition including the original box. The two clockworks are encased in a wooden block which is slightly tilted. The clock is operated with two metal push buttons, which are the smoothest and at the same time most solid mechanism I have ever seen.

I am all for over-engineering especially for items that you want to pay for once and own forever. This would solve all the plunger issues that plague ALL mechanical clocks until the DGT plastic rockers and the Chronos mechanical and touch-sensitive buttons took over the industry standard for chess clocks. 

That general shape of the  Fichter clock looks so much like the Swiss Looping but I suppose I should be saying that the Looping looks like the Fichter as, potentially then, the Fichter was being made for a decade before the Looping arrived on the scene! Yours is a beauty to behold yet looks so sturdy. Thank you for all of this!

Last evening I did ask the seller of these colored Yantar's if he knew anything about when and by whom the painting of his clocks was done. Unfortunately, all he could offer was that he acquired all of them as someone's collection and by "accident". So the mystery remains... I'm glad I've acquired his red one, though - the Soviet star is red! 

I wish i had one of these mechanical clocks . . .

I have several different analog & Two digital . . .

This is the clock i use in the kids tournaments i run or train . . .

Hi Denverhigh. I've never seen that particular Jerger before...wow! Thank you for the picture!

I like that chess clock because it has the chess pieces . . . Except for no bishop . . .I

The best thing about analogue chess clock is that you never know exactly how much time you have hehehe

Hello again, people...

I just wanted to mention that there is a Jerger chess clock for sale on Ebay that's the same as Denver High's model with the chess pieces representing the numerals. Here's the link...

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/Vintage-Jerger-Analog-Chess-Clock-Game-Timer/293734809268?_trkparms=aid%3D777001%26algo%3DDISCO.FEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20200211172457%26meid%3Dabb9566495d84dfd850affdf4715d726%26pid%3D101213%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D1%26mehot%3Dnone%26itm%3D293734809268%26pmt%3D0%26noa%3D1%26pg%3D2380057%26algv%3DRecommendingSearch%26brand%3D&_trksid=p2380057.c101213.m46344&_trkparms=pageci%3Ae8dc5ca1-1df9-11eb-a591-

Also, I recently purchased a beautiful, unique chess board from "WoodenGiftsByJoseph"on the Etsy site. If any of you are looking for unique chessboards at very affordable prices, you might want to have a peek at his offerings. Look what I got!

Those are purple heart and curly maple squares.  Anyway, bye for now...