clocks

It's almost time to turn the clocks forward and what a fine collection of clocks will be on display as part of the Bonhams & Butterfields Los Angeles Fine European Furniture and Decorative Arts sale on March 29, 2010. The 500-lot sale will feature pieces for varied tastes and collecting levels from the 16th through the 20th centuries with a focus on English, French, Italian, Spanish and German property. Highlights from the sale will include a strong selection of more than 30 clocks by prominent makers. One of the marquee lots of the fall auction is a Regency style gilt bronze mounted marquetry regulateur (est. $50,000 - 70,000). The case is ornamented with gilt bronze and has a white enamel dial with Arabic hours and twin train movement striking on a bell. Also offered in the clock section of the auction is a French gilt bronze mounted marble regulateur from the 19th century. That piece, shown at right, is 117 inches in height and is estimated to bring $70,000-90,000.

Other incredible ways to mark the passage of time include a Louis XVI style gilt bronze mantel clock by Beurdeley, Paris, (est. $15,000 - 20,000); a Napoleon III gilt bronze mounted marble floor clock (est. $15,000 - 20,000); a musical movement Dutch Baroque paint decorated tall case clock (est. $8,000 - 12,000) and a cartouche outline Louis XV style gilt bronze clock garniture with twin train movement striking on a bell (est. $15,000 - 20,000). Not a clock but truly worth a look is an Italian late Renaissance pietra dura panel (est. $40,000-60,000) that mimics engraving by the Flemish painter and engraver Aegidious Sadeler II rendered in delicately placed Florentine stones with a lapis-lazuli sky.

These days it seems like the clock and the watch have almost fallen out of fashion. Everyone looks to their cell phone or other electronics to learn the time. But what could have been a disaster has led to invention. Watch manufacturers are still innovating and seducing a new generation of collectors with intricate mechanisms. Some clock creators are now taking a page from the book of watch manufacturers by creating mechanical clocks that cause viewers to look at time in a new way. The Catena wall clock created by Andreas Dober for Anthologie Quartett features copper digits mounted onto a bicycle chain to create one of the most unique clocks I've seen in a while. It's a little bit steampunk, a little avant garde and sells for $2,263.

In their blurb about Vitra Nelson Desk Clocks on their site Design Public makes a crack about whether kids even know how to tell time on a non-digital clock anymore, and honestly I bet some don't! Digital clocks are everywhere, and anymore any non-digital timepiece around has a pretty good chance of being mostly for show. But regardless if that's the case or not in your home or office these Vitra Nelson Desk Clocks will look stylish on your desk or mantle, and there are so many options you're sure to find something that fits in with your decor.

Part of the reason it's hard to choose what kind of accessories and decorations to have in your home is that once you've decided you're somewhat stuck with it, at least for awhile. And although this Font Clock by Sebastian Wrong definitely has a certain appearance at all times, it also does a good job of switching up the details and looking a little different every day. It's "a 21st century take on the British 24 hour clock design icon," and it has 12 different fonts stored inside for a mixed up and random view of the date and time. It comes in 3 sizes ranging in price from £195 to £810.


Via Retro to Go

I'm generally pretty old-fashioned in my tastes, but one exception is my alarm clock -- the funkier and more modern the better! And this is a fun looking clock, with cubes representing each number that can be arranged however you want. Designed by Jonas Damon, the Numbers Clock is a clock stripped down to its simplest form of just the numbers and an alarm function. Just be careful not to get too creative and stack the numbers up in a way that you'll be confused how to read it in the middle of the night!

Available with white numbers or red, $80.

I'm usually pretty positive and like most of what I post on here, but I also get creeped out fairly easily and can honestly say this George Nelson Eye Clock design is not for me. I just don't need a large mechanical eye staring down at me while I'm trying to work, or relax and watch TV, or whatever. But designed in 1957 and reissued by Vitra, it's amazingly timeless (tacky pun intended!) in its appeal. Even if I'm not crazy about it I can appreciate the unique design and the fact that it really doesn't look like it was originally born 50 years ago. £196


Via Retro To Go