Kienzle Uhren GmbH are Germany's oldest watchmakers. The company was founded by Johannes Schlenker in 1822 in Schwenningen, Germany. Since 2002, the company's headquarters have been in Hamburg, Germany.
History
In 1883, Jakob Kienzle married into the Schlenker family, and became a partner in the company. The company was renamed to Schlenker & Kienzle from 1883 until 1922, when it became a stockholder corporation under the name Kienzle Uhrenfabrik, A.G. (Kienzle Clock Factories, A.G.).
When the company introduced the "American System" of production in 1894, standardized individual components, and perforated plates, the cost of alarm clocks and wall clocks was significantly reduced. In 1897, Jakob Kienzle became the sole owner, and the name of the company was eventually changed to Kienzle. In the following years branches in Milan, Paris, and London were established.[1] In 1899, the company was producing 162,000 watches and alarm clocks per year.
In 1902, Kienzle launched the time stamp clock on the market and the first clocks for automobiles. The "Strapazier-Armbanduhr" was presented in 1931, and 25 million were sold.[2]
At the end of the 1930s, Kienzle started the manufacture of two table clocks in the upper price segment: the Zodiac Clock and the World Time Clock.