Art du Temps Is Coolest Wall Clock Ever

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed)
Jan 25th 2011 at 4:02PM

First let me say that this wall clock is all Swiss made and all mechanical. See the video after the bump and you'll get a preview of how is amazing clock will function. While quite pricey, this clock is not just a concept, it will be made and available for purchase.

Designed by illi and Julien Ado for another firm called designby8, the Art du Temps starts with a rectangular board with a lot of "articulating" squares on it. When in passive mode, some of these squares randomly move up and down "beating" to indicate the passing of the seconds. To see the time you "ask" it to show the time. I think this can be done remotely, or via voice command. Then, in a science fiction like ballet, the squares move around, out of the way to display a digital clock, but one that uses physical pieces. This is called "mechanical digital hours."

How much will it cost? Around 90,000 Swiss Francs, and orders will start to be taken in March 2011, with delivery of the first pieces expected in the fall/winter of 2011. Now watch the video below.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

ART DU TEMPS - illi from illi on Vimeo.

Tags: art du temps, clock, illi, mechanical, squares, swiss

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

rwayne52 Jan 26th 2011 7:31AM

At first glance I was reminded of the interesting Harry Winston Opus 8, a watch that took me a while to warm up to, now I am fond of the design.

Then I remembered the Swiss Railroad Wall Clock, a design so perfect that there is no need for any further design attempts.