To be considered a certified Authentic Black Forest Cuckoo Clock, a clock must meet certain requirements as prescribed by the Verein die Schwarzwalduhr (VdS), otherwise known as The Black Forest Clock Association.
The clock must also function mechanically without the assistance of batteries or electricity.
Interestingly enough, some cuckoo clocks of the past utilize wooden gears.
Finally, all of the essential clock parts must be produced in the Black Forest excluding music boxes, which are typically produced in Switzerland, a country well known for making fine music boxes.There are many noteworthy clockmakers building VdS Certified Authentic Clocks today, and one of the finest is HEKAS.
Founded in 1938 by visionary Helmut Kammerer, HEKAS has been producing some of the best examples of authentic cuckoo clocks found anywhere in the world.
Every clock produced by Hekas and the Kammerer family is placed on a test wall and thoroughly tested before it leaves the clock factory.
