Some time ago, I presented miniature wall clocks from Wintermantel here in the blog. This time, the wall clock is even smaller, as it is intended for dollhouses or toy shops.
The small clock with the inscription LUSO-BABY measures just 49 x 60 x 16 mm without the pendulum and hands.
By the way, the button at the top of the picture is the original winding key for the movement’s mainspring. The original packaging is also still available:
The packaging says MADE IN GERMANY and the back cover says MADE U.S. ZONE. This refers to the American occupation zone that existed after World War II from July 1945 to September 1949. The watch was therefore probably manufactured during this period. Sources whose accuracy I have been unable to verify claim that these watches were manufactured until the 1970s.
I have not yet been able to find any information about who the manufacturer was. However, it seems likely to me that it was a manufacturer from the Pforzheim area. Pforzheim was part of the American occupation zone and was the most important center of the watch industry in Germany at that time.
I was also unable to find out anything about the origin of the name LUSO. Although there is a Portuguese toy manufacturer with the same name, it has nothing to do with LUSO watches.
The cover on the back can be easily removed. Incidentally, this was originally made of sheet metal, which was later replaced by plastic. What you find under the cover is rather disappointing. At least it is a real clock movement, but it is designed in such a way that it can hardly be dismantled without causing damage. In particular, the minute hand cannot be removed because it is riveted in place. Therefore, there are no deeper insights into the movement at this point!
The movement has a simple anchor escapement with a pendulum and ticks relatively quickly, as can be seen in the following video.
In my tests, the clock ran for about four hours. Unfortunately, I can’t say whether it is reasonably accurate. My model takes about two hours to go through 60 minutes, but even that varies. The cause is probably a lack of friction in the motion works, which means that the minute hand and therefore also the hour hand do not move at a steady pace.
If any of my readers have further information about LUSO-Baby watches or their manufacturer, I would be very grateful to hear from you!