Vintage 'Olympia' Jerger chess clock form the Ghent Chess Club, complete and in working order. The clock has been examined by a clockmaker who confirms that it functions perfectly well however we are unable to offer a guarantee.

Jerger chess clocks. Adolf Jerger KG's watch factory was established in 1905 and was based in Niedereschach in the Black Forest near Villingen-Schwenningen, a centre of the German watch industry. He joined after completing his apprenticeship with his uncle Wilhelm Jerger. Since business was particularly good after the war, a branch was opened in neighbouring Deisslingen, it’s core business was the production and distribution of mechanical alarm clocks whose movements also formed the basis of chess clocks, and electrical components such as earphones and voltmeters.

At a very early stage, probably as early as the 1920s, chess clocks were added and quickly gained fame due to their quality. The "Olympia" model was always the epitome of the Jerger brand and was used in the 1958 Chess Olympiad in Munich. The Olympia model was produced in numerous variations and in large quantities. Jerger chess clocks were mainly housed in a stable spiked oak wood case, sloping base plate and the metal plate on top. The first versions could be personalised by engraving the name of a club or owner.

With the advent of digital watches in the 1970s and 1980s the mechanical watch business greatly decreased and the 400-employee workforce had to be gradually reduced. Cost pressure on the production of the expensive Olympia chess clock increased so that in the 1980s the Chess Champion, a smaller and cheaper model with a plastic case, was launched on the market, partly also produced for external customers with their company logos, for example Weible and Heuer. But all this did not help save the company, in 1987 the Deisslingen branch had to be closed and in 1988 the main company went bankrupt, however Markus Jerger tried to continue the production of alarm clocks and chess clocks, however in 1995 the company went bankrupt for the second and last time.

Revanche was a Dutch company, distributor (under its own label), of chess sets, boards and clocks. Jerger chess clocks were built in Germany and "branded" under the Revanche brand for sale in the Netherlands.

These clocks are characterised by their striking blue hands and the distributor's mark on the face.

The clock base measures 19.5cm wide and the clocks stand 11cm high.


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