3/4 Ring Knights Cross.........

[sam steele]

Hello Gents,

Reading up on the 3/4 RK, I've become intrigued by it's uniqueness. I've corresponded with Dietrich on the information in his book, and wondered if any of our fellow members could shed some light on the recipients, and your opinions as to whom the manufacturer might be?

I realise that Juncker came out with the first awarded RK. But the 3/4 Ring....if it was made by Deumer.....were there technical difficulties which prevented it from beating Juncker to the post, and why did it suddenly disappear at it's conception?

Was it truly "the first" in design, only?

I know that there are photos of the 3/4 in the Gallery, but I'd love to see more pics of it, if my fellow members may allow. May I show the attached picture, and hope that the owner does not object?

Cheers,

Bill

[Dietrich Maerz]

Despite the fact that the Deumer catalog shows a Knights Cross which is close to a 3/4 ring it is not proven that this company is the producer.

I have a set of photographs from the Stadmuseum Lüdenscheid showing employees soldering Knights Crosses together. These pictures were most likely taken in 1940 and these crosses are NOT 3/4 rings. I am not allowed to post the pictures on the Internet and I will keep to my promise. But they will be published soon.

However, to the question of the 3/4 ring itself they are not contributing a lot.

Dietrich

[Leroy]

Here's one: Artur Godenau - RK on May 31, 1940.

[sam steele]

Thanks, Dietrich and Leroy.

Names have been mentioned such as Godet and Juncker, but would they have used such an unusual core as copper? It would be more attractive to think that Juncker bought out a bankrupted maker, then utilised the tooling and dies, but again.......why manufacture something so far off the beaten track, if you are an established maker in your own right?

Having said that, look how Godet was dumped (with the help of Goring, perhaps) when Godet first made the Diamonds set? A lesser star as Klein took them over and did a great job. Again, perhaps person or persons unknown in the hierarchy determined that the 3/4 Ring wasn't visually appealing....and they quickly faded into obscurity.

They appeal to me because (a) they were made very early in the war, (b) the materials used were unusual and out of the norm, and (c) the maker remains tantalisingly unknown !

More pictures and names, please?

Cheers,

Bill

[Leroy]

And here's Hardy Kruger wearing one in the 1957 film "The One Who Got Away".

[Leroy]

Juncker made Juncker.

S&L made S&L.

Zimmermann made Godet, or vice versa, or maybe Deumer made them both. (The RK in the Ludenscheid Museum, said to be a Deumer, is a Zimmermann.)

Schickle may have actually made the Schickle. Then again, the Schickle in the Shropshire Light Infantry Museum is on a Deumer card, with Oakleaves which match the ones supposedly made by Deumer for The German Order. The provenance for Schickle as an "award" cross is severely limited.

Deschler is mentioned as a prime candidate for RK production, and was a logical choice to make them, but the frame on the one described as a Deschler in a well-known book (not Dietrich's) is actually a match to a late, heaviliy flawed S&L "B" frame.

K&Q made K&Q during the war. After that, who knows?

Wachtler & Lange says it made the RK.

The frame known as the "postwar Souval" frame appears on the "Sedlatzek cross" in Dietrich's book, purchased immediately after the war from Sedlatzek as a wartime piece, and possibly the source of the "dipping ring" in wartime photos.

The LDO was instituted in large measure to regulate the quality of awards offered for sale. God only knows who made what before it started throwing its weight around in mid-1941.

[Leroy]

Sorry...The Kruger film is "The One That Got Away"!

[wolfeknives]

Here is a photo of another one. I believe this one is shown in Dietrich's book as well. The 3/4 ring, along with the early unmarked Junckers are my favorite crosses. Pity that these are so scarce.

[Leroy]

Beautiful cross! (And very scarce, indeed!)

[Ludwig]

Really nice! I have always liked the 3/4s. Perhaps because they are a little bit ugly.

[Tim Calvert]

Ludwig likes his RKs like he likes his women!!!!


Every individual award has its own personality, like a little piece of art.
Some 3/4s might be a little bit ugly, but I can't complain about the way mine turned out. I think she's gorgeous!

[Pieter Verbruggen]

Ludwig likes his RKs like he likes his women!!!!


Every individual award has its own personality, like a little piece of art.
Some 3/4s might be a little bit ugly, but I can't complain about the way mine turned out. I think she's gorgeous!

...3/4s are very sexy to me...and you almost never see them! And with a 1° type of diamonds attatched they are even better than a woman.
Pieter.

Ludwig you have good taste.

[Allan P.]

Here are a couple of shots on mine.

It's cased and comes with the wider ribbon, the ribbon insert in the case is larger to take the ribbon too.

Allan

[Allan P.]

Thanks.

[Ludwig]

Ludwig likes his RKs like he likes his women!!!!


Every individual award has its own personality, like a little piece of art.
Some 3/4s might be a little bit ugly, but I can't complain about the way mine turned out. I think she's gorgeous!

That´s true my friend. Hope you are doing fine by the way!