An 8 day cuckoo clock is defined by its internal movement: a one day cuckoo clock requires winding once per day, where an 8-day cuckoo clock runs for approximately one week on a single winding. Our collection is full of beautiful hand-carved and hand-painted traditional and Chalet style clocks, with a little something for every taste and budget. Find your favorites here, and if you are looking for a cuckoo clock with an 8-day movement that plays music, please check our collection of musical 8-day cycle clocks.

Cuckoo Clock Movements

One of the distinctive features of a Black Forest Cuckoo Clock is its mechanical movement. These precise mechanisms--the mechanics that make the clock tick, turn, and cuckoo on cue--are all managed by what’s known as the movement. A clock’s movement is a series of gears, shafts, and bellows that keep track of passing seconds (giving the clock its familiar tick-tock sound) all driven by the gravitational pull of the weights for a specified amount of time, and finally moving the bellows and mechanical music box that give Black Forest cuckoo clocks their distinctive sound and function.

There are three main types of movements: the 1-day movement, the 8-day movement, and the quartz movement.

1 Day Movement

The one-day movement must be wound every day, by pulling down on the chains to draw the pine cone shaped weights up to the base of the clock. This winding process will reset the clock and keep it running day to day. It’s a classic design, great for those on a budget, but it requires you to wind up the weights each and every morning, and is ideally suited for those who don’t mind a little more interaction with their clock.

8 Day Movement

The eight-day movement must only be wound every week or so (seven to eight days) which makes it much less labor intensive than a one-day movement. It has every feature of the one-day clock but it doesn’t require nearly as much winding, making it more convenient than a one-day cuckoo clock.

The Quartz Clock

The quartz clock uses a quartz crystal to keep time (similar to a quartz watch). It is battery-powered, rather than weight driven. Both the bird’s cuckoo and the music box are digital and activated by batteries, as is the movement of the clock hands. The only maintenance required is changing the batteries. Quartz movements contain plastic parts and are less expensive than traditional brass mechanical movements.

Only cuckoo clocks containing mechanical movements can qualify for certification by VdS (The Black Forest Clock Association)) an organization in Germany that certifies Black Forest cuckoo clocks as authentic. While many of our quartz clocks are hand carved in Germany, a clock must be mechanically driven and manufactured in the Black Forest to be eligible for certification. Therefore clocks with battery operated movements do not qualify even though quartz versions are built by the same craftsmen that build the certified mechanical clocks.