While the Kit-Cat Klock, or Kit Kat Klock, is surely recognizable to many of you, you might be wondering why exactly we’re writing about it. Well, as it turns out, the Kit-Cat Klock is a veritable design icon, clock design, that is. And while you may not be the biggest fan of felines (I know I’m not), you do have to give up for its designer, Earl Arnault, for creating a clock design that has endured for almost 100 years!
The Kit-Cat Klock was first released in 1932 in Oregon and was manufactured originally by the Allied Clock Company in Portland, Oregon – that soon after moved to Seattle, Washington. The Kit-Cat Klocks are known for their signature smiles, wagging tails, and rolling eyes. These pendulum clocks were plugged into the wall and powered by a small hand wound motor, they would be started by turning a knob that started up the motor. They were particularly popular with women in the mid-20th century and saw a few design changes in the 1950s, including the addition of a bow-tie and top paws. According to John Young, who has the rights to the clocks through his California Clock Company, millions of units were sold in the 1950s. In 1962, Allied Clock Company moved to California to continue production of their clocks, but by the 1980s the company was struggling. The owner of the now California Clock Company convinced John to take over the business, which he did in 1982, soon after starting to produce battery-powered Kit-Cat Klocks for the first time, using their own technology.
New coloured Kit-Cat Klocks / Credit: The Purrington Post
By the 1990s, limited editions were being produced, with Lady Kit-Cat being released in 2001 – eyelashes and pearls now replacing the bow-tie. The Kit-Cat Klock has celebrated its 75th, and 85th anniversaries, and the clock is now coming up on its 90th year of production. According to the California Clock Company, someone has purchased a Kit-Cat Klock every 3 minutes for the last 50 years!
While not the kind of clock we usually admire, it is certainly a worthwhile piece of American clock design, an icon. Who knows, maybe your parents or grandparents have one at home? Fun fact: a Kit-Cat Klock is prominently featured in the opening scene of the 1985 film Back to the Future!
By: Andres Ibarguen
Read more:
“History.” Kit-Cat Klock, https://kit-cat.com/about-us/.
Attoun, Marti. “California Clockmaker Animates Time.” American Profile, March 9th, 2008, https://americanprofile.com/articles/kit-cat-klock/.