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Exotic clocks and watches.

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Exotic clocks and watches

“Time does not exist. Clocks exist.” – wall graffiti

Today we look at various clocks, watches and means to tell the time, a fleeting continuum that is otherwise invisible and even irrelevant, especially when considered as a disappearing line between absolute concepts of “past” and “future”.

The Horological Machine - called pure watchporn. We agree.
The Horological Machine – called pure watchporn. We agree.

The Horological Machineinfo – called pure watchporn. We agree.

Somebody said that a “miracle” is nothing but a time compressed – a fast forward, or even skip button around the normal flow of things. Even without considering miracles, we seem obsessed with measuring time (perhaps to reassure ourselves in the world’s normality?) – as it swirls around us in glittering fractal spirals, constantly teetering on the brink of eternity, yet never quite falling into it.

design by: Dale Mathis

Design by: Dale Mathis

“Time Considered as a Helix of Semiprecious Stones” (S. Delany)
They are thousands of clocks online, sites that compete in their Flash-infused glory to show you the current hours and minutes; this site, however, has rather more sublime design and animation –

LeoGeo clock

Click to launch LeoGeo clock

Very strange Digimech clock, designed by Duncan Shotton, with strips of alien code slowly moving through… time:

Design by Duncan Shotton

(design by Duncan Shotton)

Design by Duncan Shotton

Or this clock, that takes the idea of time as continuum literally – it tells the time in a continuous sentence, something like “It’s about six o’clock” or “it’s almost seven now”. In other words, poetry in motion –

Exotic clocks

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Read time differently! These geek clocks need some time to figure out… check out the answers here

Exotic clocks

Designs by DCIGift and EagleApex

Exotic clocks

Exotic clocks

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Designer Buro Vormkrijgers presents the “Orbit Clock” and Ross McBride came up with a minimalist “Extra-Normal” clock:

“The Explosion of Time”, design by Niels van Eijk & Miriam van der Lubbe and “The Water Clock”

“The Explosion of Time”, design by Niels van Eijk & Miriam van der Lubbe and “The Water Clock”

“The Explosion of Time”, design by Niels van Eijk & Miriam van der Lubbe and “The Water Clock”, via

Behold the thing of beauty… Lisa Boyer’s wooden gear clock plans, inspired perhaps by Leonardo da Vinci’s paintings, would transform any room into a baroque “workshop”. They are “swoopy”, kinetic, some even include calendar, and some are sophisticated enough to be called “Masochist’s Corner” – to see the whole gorgeous lineup click here –

image credit: Lisa Boyer

Image credit: Lisa Boyer

Clock “sculptures” may require a separate page, see for example, the “grandfather clock” made from old bicycle parts – some videos here
For the ultimate wall clock piece you’ll have to pay more than a million dollars, but it’s creepy and perhaps even evil deep down inside. The Corpus Clock looks like one of H.R. Giger’s haunting designs, uses grasshopper escapement, guarded by the sinister Chronophage insect on top… “Basically I view time as not on your side. He’ll eat up every minute of your life, and as soon as one has gone he’s salivating for the next.” (clock’s creator John C. Taylor) –

image credit: Andrew Stawarz

Image credit: Andrew Stawarz

Alarm clocks that can not be denied
More creative ways to yank you from blissful slumber into a jarring noise and bustle of the world:
Alarm-clock Ring for the couple: let’s say you need to wake up at a different time from your spouse – you let the ring charge and put it on when going to sleep. The rings will start vibrating at a certain time, waking you up.

Exotic clocks

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More alarm-clock violence: retro-styled “Bomba” (on the right) and the Alarm Grenade, that is impossible to shut off, unless you smash it against the wall! –

Exotic clocks

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Combine it with a Danger Bomb alarm clock, that requires your full concentration:

Exotic clocks

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Is alarm on the left is very easy to shut off – just smash it! The whole clock is one big button…. satisfying. If you dislike such violence, there is a “Glo Pillow” that will simulate sunrise to gently wake you up – more info

designs by Matthias Lange and Eoin McNally & Ian Walton

Designs by Matthias Lange and Eoin McNally & Ian Walton

LED clock design by Jonas Damon and the Puzzle Alarm Clock

LED clock design by Jonas Damon and the Puzzle Alarm Clock

Alarm clock carpet… and probably the most unforgiving alarm clock of all: “Three minutes after it goes off without having you turn it off, it will start to make random phone calls from your cell phone.” –

Exotic clocks.

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With all these alarm-clock options, no wonder the simple retro-styled ones look unhappy:

Exotic clocks

Clocks in your house that are impossible to ignore
Put this thing on the wall and let it “ruin” it. One-Hour Circle from EverLab – on the right – and the The Receipt Clock on the left; both have dubious practicality, but who knows…
Exotic clocks

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Make a huge one on your garage door (pretty old concept, actually) – or enjoy a giant LED clock as a book shelf.

Exotic clocks

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If you want the ultimate freedom in wall clocks, well, try this one – the numbers can be arranged on the wall however you like (designed by Progetti Srl, Italy) –

Exotic clocks

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Check out the Watch Table from Lee J. Rowland Design:

Exotic clocks

Exotic clocks

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or the executive desk, with moving gears – made by Dale Mathis:

(image credit: Dale Mathis)

Dale Mathis

Combine measuring tape and kitchen timer, and you’ll get this:

Exotic clocks

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Pocket- and Wristwatch Oddities
Even without featuring bizarre “Tokyo Flash” watches, you can load up on a slew of super-geeky time pieces, Binary LED clock, “Rotating Rings” clock, and even “Stonehenge” pocket-watch for predicting solstices

Exotic clocks

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Electronic Ink Watch from SEIKO is perhaps the most elegant time-telling device in history. Cartier, eat your heart out. It’s ultra-thin, open to all sorts of styles, can be worn as a wrist bracelet or bangle design, can be any size, including very very small – more info

Exotic clocks

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If you don’t like numbers, time can be told in phrases – check out the “Tubular Time” word-clock – order it here:

Exotic clocks

It’s a mad, mad, mad, mad, mad watch world – a smorgasbord of ideas:
Exotic clocks

Exotic clocks

Exotic clocks

Exotic clocks

Exotic clocks

Designer “Ruby Slice” watch, and other unknown designs, Images

Exotic clocks

Designs by Denis Guidone

Cassette tape watch and retro-phone watch by Zihotch:

Exotic clocks

“Richard Mille RM 01200”, “Richard Mille 1” and “Harry Winston Tourbillon Glissiere” were one of many sophisticated unusual movement watches shown at Geneva Watch Fair:
Exotic clocks

Vintage Awesomeness with Hands and Gears (mostly)
The RetroGrade Pocket-watch (circa 1900) is a definition of steampunk – it’s gorgeous, cryptic and full of its own mad movement:
Exotic clocks

“Blued steel hands that traverse the arc of the dial and then snap back.” – see it being sold for $3,750. Quite lot more of modern retrograde watches are featured at Watchismo:
Exotic clocks

Speaking of steampunk watches, master Haruo Suekichi has been making them for 12 years – pretty much every single day! That makes 7,000 unique time-pieces, and still counting!
(image credit: Haruo Suekichi)

Image credit: Haruo Suekichi

Cabestan’s “Winch Tourbillon Vertical” watches are in a league of their own. Nothing comes close to their sophistication, and sheer audacity of style:

Exotic clocks

Chain-driven movements! 1,352 components all working together! Only four watches a month made! Priced aprrox. $400,000… Nothing even comes close.
Exotic clocks

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A whole collection of “2001: A Space Odyssey” watches also can be seen at a wonderful “Watchismo” site. Did Stanley Kubrick himself contribute to their design?

Exotic clocks

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Very cool vintage calculator watches: 1975 Calcron Calculator Watch, 1976 Uranus Calculator Watch –

Exotic clocks

An elegant 1977 Hewlett Packard HP-01, and totally ridiculous 1976-78 Hughes Aircraft Calculator Watch –
Exotic clocks

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You might remember our series about Vintage Spy Guns and miniature spy cameras. Here is a 1886 Victorian Lancaster watch camera that predates better-known spy camera watches from 1907 –

Exotic clocks

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