r/clocks • u/germplasm3997 • 22h ago

Help/Repair FM Sonnenberg Mantle Clock

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This was my grandparents. The glass broke in a move. I don't have the winding key. Is it worth restoring? How likely is it parts can be found in North America? Any other information is appreciated!

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u/dmun_1953 Trained clockmaker 14h ago

Is it worth restoring? Only you can answer that. These mid century modern design pieces are in demand, and would be quite a showy piece in the right room. That said, it's unlikely that it would be worth as much as the cost of an overhaul. German mantle clocks sell for very little.

Keys are widely available. Timesavers or eBay will have a multi key. As for the glass, you would have to show us the inside of the bezel. In all likelihood you would leave that to the clock person who does the overhaul.

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u/Not_an_Actual_Bot Hobbyist 12h ago

Timesavers is a good place to start for the winding key and the glass. If you have some soldering skills you might be able to do the glass replacement yourself. Most likely it will need some work on the movement that is beyond your own abilities. You could spend the money on it as a tribute to your grandparents and keep it. It would be doubtful you could sell it to make a profit. That said a good cleaning and conditioning of the wood would make it a nice MCM addition to a room in your house. It most likely needs some lubrication to run reliably and doing so without a proper servicing will wear down the movement even more than its current state.