Wood: An Irreplaceable Material for All Time – Even in Watchmaking
Wood is probably the oldest building material in the world. This natural material was used even before the Stone Age, Bronze Age, and Iron Age. Around 10,000 BC, 28 wooden houses were built in Württemberg at the Federsee moor. Later, the construction of artificial dwellings began. However, wood was not used exclusively for house building; early on, humanity discovered that this natural material could be used for many different things: from chairs and beds to grandfather clocks and furniture.
No other example so vividly shows the relationship between humans and nature. This elemental natural raw material has been used by people for more than 400,000 years. It is indispensable as a fuel, used as a material for everyday objects, and also for works of art and building materials. Hardly any craft of recent years can do without this raw material: whether split, solid, dissolved, or burned - wood used to be and still is irreplaceable today. The writer Wolf Helmhardt von Hohberg was also convinced of this; he said:
"If we did not have wood, then we would not have fire; then we would all have to eat our food raw and freeze in winter; we would have no houses, nor lime or bricks, no glass, no metals. We would have neither tables nor doors, neither chairs nor other household goods."
Wooden furniture making
The first pieces of furniture were made in ancient times. The ancient Greeks were familiar with the art of woodturning. Using simple lathes, they were able to skillfully turn wood into tables and chairs. In museums and churches, you can still find well-preserved wooden desks and throne chairs that still serve the same function today as they did many years ago.
In the Middle Ages, people owned cupboards made of intricately worked wood in which clothes were stored. Later, it became clear that cupboards are practical not only in the bedroom, but also in other rooms. Around the 17th century, the cupboard became what we now have standing in our rooms. Over the years, wooden furniture was influenced by different eras. To this day, various styles can be recognized, as the artists of the time gave the furniture their very own personal touch.
The grandfather clock: a timekeeping piece of furniture
Hardly any other piece of furniture can look back on such an interesting history as the grandfather clock. Formerly also called a regulator, grandfather clocks have existed for many centuries. Their beginnings date back to around 1580 AD, when it was discovered that a pendulum is ideal for measuring time. Galileo Galilei began building a pendulum clock and later the world's first hourglass.
The first models are by no means comparable to today’s grandfather clocks. Their accuracy was off by up to 15 minutes or more. Nevertheless, it was enough to plan the day. In 1721, the British clockmaker George Graham made a spectacular discovery: he found that temperature affects the pendulum and can distort the time display. Based on this observation, he built grandfather clocks whose accuracy to within one second was exact.
What distinguishes today’s grandfather clocks is, in broad terms, the clock mechanism and the materials used for the case. While the case itself is still made of wood, the clock mechanism consists of many small parts made of brass and other materials.
Wooden furniture is now bought online
Wood is and remains one of the most popular materials in furniture making. In recent years, the trend has been toward sustainability. This means that consumers are increasingly committed to environmental protection and buy wooden furniture from retailers that use wood from certified cultivation. The goal is to stop illegal logging, which has reached alarming proportions in many countries.
Today’s consumers are not only interested in environmental protection, they are also well informed and looking for the best value for money. They usually find this in furniture online shops such as www.stilartmoebel.de , where furniture is sold directly to customers. The advantage: no rent has to be paid for showrooms. The company passes this price advantage on to its customers. Together with a large selection of furniture for the bathroom, living room, bedroom, and all other rooms in the house, this creates an exceptionally good value for money.
