Heinrich Johannes Möller for Kienzle Germany Art Deco Mantle Clock C. 1950

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Designer Heinrich Möller for Kienzle Germany 8-Day Modernist Mantel Desk Clock Circa 1950's

Measurements: 6.25"T x 6"W x 2.75"D (15.88cm … Read more Designer Heinrich Möller for Kienzle Germany 8-Day Modernist Mantel Desk Clock Circa 1950's

Measurements: 6.25"T x 6"W x 2.75"D (15.88cm x 15.24cm x 6.99cm)

Markings: Kienzle Made in Germany

Weight: 1.9 lbs.

Striking and beautifully preserved mid-century German table clock by Kienzle, attributed to the design direction of Heinrich Johannes Möller, the influential designer who led Kienzle’s design department for decades.
The composition is pure postwar modernism: a broad circular glass dial framed in dark metal, delicate open rectangular hour markers, inset gilt batons, minute dots, and wonderfully sculptural asymmetrical hands. The spare graphic layout gives the clock a distinctly architectural quality, balancing German precision with the lighter, more refined aesthetic that emerged in European design during the 1950s.
Behind the dial is Kienzle’s mechanical 8-day movement, allowing approximately a week of operation between windings. The movement is accessed from the rear and retains its integrated winding mechanism. The restrained geometry, absence of numerals, and contrast between the pale dial, dark perimeter, and gilt details make this an unusually elegant example of Kienzle’s modernist production.
Heinrich Möller became one of the defining figures in Kienzle’s design history after taking leadership of the company’s design department in 1931. His work helped move Kienzle away from heavily ornamented clock cases toward cleaner, more functional industrial forms. Period museum documentation shows Kienzle producing Möller-designed 8-day table clocks around 1950 using gilt metal, glass or Plexiglas, and refined modernist dial treatments. Deutsches Uhrenmuseum Blog
This clock remains in exceptionally fine vintage condition and is working properly. Its compact scale makes it ideal for a desk, credenza, bookshelf, mantel, sideboard, or curated modernist interior.
A superb collector’s object for admirers of German industrial design, Kienzle clocks, Heinrich Möller, Bauhaus-influenced modernism, and 1950s European decorative arts.

Heinrich Johannes Möller
Heinrich Johannes Möller was a German designer closely associated with Kienzle and its transformation into a design-conscious modern clock manufacturer. Trained initially as a cabinetmaker, he later moved into industrial and product design and became responsible for Kienzle’s design department after the 1931 merger with DUFA. He remained in that role until his retirement in 1970. Museum and historical sources credit him with shaping many of Kienzle’s most recognizable table and world-time clocks across the mid-20th century. See less