ZassenhausMagnetic Retro Kitchen Timer, Classic Mechanical Cooking Timer (Cream)

Love the retro look, works great and is loud enough to hear in another room. You do need to use 2 hands to wind it but that's not a problem for me. I ordered 2 other colors also. Love it!

Appears to be well made, followed instructions, but after a few uses, it no longer keeps time. Rotate to 55 minutes, reset back to 15 minutes. Tick Tick Tick and stops. Rotate or shake then Tick Tick Tick Tick and stops. Rotate or shake then Tick Tick Tick Tick and stops. Alarm still works at time 0. It will not keep time at all no matter what you do, and thus defective.

Mom loved ot!! 🩷

Looks great (very retro/industrial) and figured since it's a European company that's been around awhile it would be reliable...which it was until today. Looking at our purchase date, it's only lasted 18 months—not sure if it's planned obsolescence but regardless, I'm going to try another brand.

This is my 2nd time purchasing this. I wore my first one out. So handy!

I really wanted to like this timer, it was the closest replacement for my old one that stopped ringing. There are 3 reasons this one misses the mark for me: 1.) The sound is an abrasive loud buzz, not the nicer bell-ringing style of other timers I've used. 2.) The actual wind-up mechanism is very tight, which not only means you need to use two hands, but you really have to muscle it to get it to turn, never convenient while cooking. Which leads to 3.) the magnet strength is a lot weaker than my last timer, which does no favors in keeping the base steady while trying to turn it. It's strong enough to hold itself up, but that's about it.

This attractive little kitchen timer is old-school, wind-up technology. Wind fully, then turn back to your desired setting. How I plan to use these is I got different colors - green I will use with vegetables; red with meats; etc. I can keep different timers for the different things I am cooking. And all of them OFF my countertop, stuck to my fridge, a few feet away from the range.The alarm is an old-school bell/clanky metal thing. Very different from any sounds on phones, so you won't mix it up with a spam text message or anything. You do need to RESPOND to the alarm, because you're not getting automatic 7 minute snoozes, like my phone does. But this is good practice anyway. That snooze is when you go from medium rare to a wasted piece of beef.If I had to give one criticism, it is that the smooth, curved surface is not a good grip for lifting the magnetized unit off its perch. I've had no real trouble with it, but with slippery hands, I could imagine it being dropped from time to time. But I'm really searching here for something to criticize.This is a wonderful, good-looking, useful kitchen tool. Buy it, buy a couple, enjoy.! Bon Appétit!

Unfortunately, the return policy on this supposed marvel of German engineering is only 30-days. There's no place on the Zassenhaus website to contact them to complain or request help for this little timer. I realize it's only twenty-two bucks.The instructions are very clear. Wind the thing up to the full hour and then back to the time you want to set. Even after doing that, about one in three times, the ticking stops and if your kitchen is dead silent (like any kitchen worth it's salt is ever quiet), you discover that it's just gone to sleep. Sometimes if you tap the thing in the middle it leaps to life (but only for a few minutes, when you've moved on to whatever's in the frying pan... and it stops again).If I could get in touch with the company, it would be a no-brainer. But, the combination of the defective product and no way to get help - I'd save my money if I were you. Sure it's pretty... but I still have to use my iPhone to bake my granola. And that app came free with the phone.Any Zassenhaus support people out there reading this? Why not contact me and make this right... I won't set the timer while I wait...