Kienzle
"round-head" (Rundkopf) tall
floor clock, circa 1920s
This lovely German tall clock was acquired from
an estate auction in September 2013. There is no
label on the case and no name that I can find on
the dial. The pull up time and strike movement
has the Kienzle logo stamp and the serial number
97686 and another number 115. The pendulum is
brass faced with what appears to be a steel back
and is relatively light. The stick is wooden. On
the back of the pendulum is the number 139364268
which is hand written. The case appears to be oak
and the door has three bevel glass panels. It has
a “Bim-Bam” strike on the 5-rod Bardon-gong with
two rods being struck together followed by the
other three being struck together. The movement
is very robust and well made and has very little
wear. I could find no previous repairs. The
hammers have a well-made worm gear adjuster. The
strike fan has an unusual type of governor and I
have not figured how it works. The pendulum
hanger has a convenient lever for shifting the
crutch to place the clock in beat. The brass
shell weights are about 8.5 and 5.5 pounds with
the heavier one on the strike side. The clock is
a strong runner and only needed a little
cleaning.
(Photos are as received before any cleaning.)
Information found on-line indicates that the
Bardon-gong was introduced in 1912. I also found
the following statement: “These so-called
‘round-head’ (Rundkopf) style cases were popular
in Germany from the 1920s into the 1930s”. I
believe the clock and movement were both made by
Kienzle sometime after 1912 and probably in the
1920s. It appears to have its original finish.
There are a couple minor scuff marks on the side
probably caused by the movers taking the clock to
the auction house. The clock is currently running
and the movement has been dusted, oiled, and
adjusted but the clock is otherwise as received
from the estate sale. I have not been able to
find any more specific information about this
model.
For Sale $2600.00
(Local pick up only)
The information on this page is believed to
the writer to be correct at the date of posting but is presented with
no guarantee expressed or implied. Pictures were a true representation of this clock at the time of posting but may not be current. Please contact me if you believe
that any of the above information is incorrect, or if you
wish to share additional information about this
clock.
