Museum piece
This rectangular mantel clock from the 1960s has a dark brown wooden case with a smooth, glossy finish. Its light-coloured rectangular dial is framed in brass. Slim applied hour markers and metallic hands give the clock a restrained appearance. The name “Gigant” appears above the centre of the hands. A glazed front panel, hinged at the side, protects the dial. The case rests on four angled brass feet.
Inside is a Kienzle calibre 606c electromechanical clock movement with an electrically operated winding lever. At regular intervals, an electromagnet pulls a hinged armature. This action winds the mechanical gear train. The clearly audible click each time the electromagnet attracts the armature is characteristic of this movement. The clock is battery-operated and has no striking or chiming mechanism.
Manufacturer
Schwenningen (now part of Villingen-Schwenningen) · Black Forest – Baden-Württemberg · Germany
Kienzle's history began in 1822, when master clockmaker Johannes Schlenker founded a Black Forest clockmaking business in Schwenningen. After Jakob Kienzle joined in 1883, the company developed under the name Schlenker & Kienzle into a major maker of alarm clocks, wall clocks and mechanical movements.
From 1897, Jakob Kienzle ran the business as its sole proprietor. Standardised components and modern manufacturing methods greatly increased production. By the early twentieth century, Kienzle was one of Germany's major clockmakers, with a range that also included pocket watches, wristwatches and automobile clocks.
In the following decades, the company produced many well-known models. Alongside traditional pendulum and mantel clocks, it made technical timepieces. In 1963, the solar-powered Heliomat table clock came onto the market. Kienzle began manufacturing its own quartz movements in the 1970s.
After financial difficulties, the Schwenningen clock company became part of the DUFA (Deutsche Uhrenfabrik) holding in 1989. DUFA filed for bankruptcy in 1996. The Kienzle brand continued to be used; a newly founded Kienzle company in Hamburg filed for insolvency in 2010. Following further company-name changes, KIS International AG became insolvent in 2014. The brand survived these corporate changes. Since 2024, it has been continued by Kienzle 1822 GmbH in Wels.
Sources:
https://www.brandslex.de/markenlexikon/cover/k/markenlexikon-kienzle.php
https://kienzle1822.de/pages/historie