🕰️ The 100-Year-Old Chess Clock and the Story It Told
Not every flea market or dusty cabinet find turns out to be a treasure. But sometimes, a small object opens the door to a much bigger story. That’s exactly what happened with one of the most unique chess clocks ever to reach our workshop.
At first glance: wooden, mechanical, aged by time. But what’s this little plate on the front?
Turns out, it was a clock manufactured by HAU (Hamburg-Amerikanische Uhrenfabrik), most likely built sometime between 1910 and 1930.
That alone was impressive. But then we noticed something even more fascinating...
On the wooden case was a metal plaque with the name of a Danish chess club and the date: 1930–1931. Curious, we reached out to the current Holte Skakklub — to ask if they had any knowledge of a predecessor.
They responded: the current club was founded in 2024 — and had no idea there was already a chess club in the same town 100 years ago. They promised to investigate further.
🧐 No Red Flag?
For clock enthusiasts, there was another mystery. Unlike most HAU clocks from this era, this one had no red flags to signal time expiration. Every known photo of HAU/HAC chess clocks includes those signature red indicators.
Could this be a prototype? A special variant made for that particular club?
As a comparison, the Jantar clock from the 1960s — made in the USSR and heavily inspired by HAU designs — has a bold red flag mechanism. That’s the same model that appears in the final scene of Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit.
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🧡 More Than Just a Mechanism
This clock reminded us that mechanical chess timers can be living archives — filled with clues about forgotten clubs, players, and moments. They deserve to be restored and remembered.
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