Zeitgeist Gallery Table Clocks and Desk

Fabulous Mid-Century Swiza with 8-day movement and original 1960s alarm clock in a stunning combination of gilt brass and real lapis lazuli. This amazing piece was designed in Switze...

A wonderful Atomic Starburst Hollywood Regency table or desk clock from the 1950s, executed by Junghans Germany. The clock has a beautiful withe and pastel yellow clocks face with go...

Article: Table clock Origin: Germany Producer: Diehl Electro, Germany Age: 1960s This original vintage table clock...

Article: Table clock Origin: Germany Producer: Kienzle, Germany Age: 1960s This original vintage table clock was produced in the 1960s by the prem...

This is a 15 jewels Swiss round clock. It depicts an enamel round frontal panel painted with a colorful beautiful bouquet of flowers framed by gilded bronze Roman numerals dial. In t...

20th c., London, a grandmother clock in a wood case with mixed veneers, with scrolled open pediment top, hinged door opens to brass and silverplate Roman numeral dial, face marked "J...

An iconic Original Ball Wall Clock designed in 1947 by George Nelson Associates and produced by the Howard Miller Clock Company in Zeeland, Michigan. This early example features a ra...

A wall clock made of leather and brass manufactured in midcentury, circa 1960. The clock hangs with golden toned cords on a brass knob. A removable key is used for winding the move...

2-day travel alarm clock by famous Swiss watch factory Jaeger-LeCoultre made in Swiss in the 1950s. Swiss manual winding movement. The lid folds down, allowing the alarm clock to be...

This enameled silver desk clock is unsigned, so a specific maker cannot be identified, but the case was made in France, and the movement in Switzerland in the period and style of Art Deco. The silver content of the case has not been tested, but is believed to be Continental or .800 or just under .925 sterling, The front of the clock is ornately enameled with raised bright red flowers on each corner with contrasting black and red geometric panels with green accents, which are duplicated on the sides. The hinged back opens to gain access to the winding mechanism and the high grade Swiss movement has been professionally serviced and works well. Although barely visible, the clock is stamped on the bottom with a French...

FACTORY / HOUSE: Jaeger LeCoultre Watch Company STYLE / REFERENCE: World Time with Date Feature METAL / MATERIAL: Lacquered Bronze CIRCA: 1950's MOVEMENT / CALIBER: 8 Day Manually Wound DIAL / HANDS: Bronze Dial, Dauphine Hands DIMENSIONS: 6.25 inches in diameter. Round Raised back 1" to 3" ATTACHMENT / LENGTH: / Regular Length WARRANTY: 18 months on the movement. Jaeger LeCoultre is renowned worldwide for their technological achievements in horology. They are the quiet designers behind Cartier's European Watch and Clock...

Interestingly, while nearly all of the designs that came out of George’s studio were attributed to him, many were actually designed by him and his team. Some were even designed solely by someone else working at the studio. Nelson famously recounted the story of how the Ball Clock came to life in an interview decades after it’s release: “It was one of the really funny evenings. Noguchi came by, Bucky Fuller came by, and here was Irving, and here was I, and Noguchi - who can’t keep his hands off anything - he saw we were working on clocks and started making doodles. Then Bucky sort of brushed Isamu aside. He said, ‘This is a good way to do a clock’ and made some utterly absurd thing. Everybody was taking a crack at this, pushing each other aside and making scribbles. At some point we left – we were suddenly all tired, and we’d had a little bit too much to drink – and the next morning I came back, and here was this roll of paper, and Irving and I looked at it, and somewhere in this roll, there was a ball clock. I don’t know to this day who cooked it up.” Nevertheless, whoever it was that came up with George Nelson’s designs, it’s almost certain that they would never have come to fruition if it wasn’t for George’s vision and forward-thinking approach. Can you tell me more about his clocks? George’s clocks were one of his most impressive bodies of work. In total, he and his team designed over 130 clocks in just three decades. While it is widely accepted that Irving Harper was the lead designer for the Howard Miller Clock Company at George Nelson Associates, the collection arose after two insightful observations from George: one, that people no longer used the numbers to tell the time; and two, that since most people now used their wristwatch to tell the time, interior clocks were now free to become more decorative in nature. The clocks were designed and released in batches of 8 and were initially only given numbers for names. The Sunflower Clock was simply ‘Clock 2261’, the Flock of Butterflies Clock was 'Clock 2226’, and so on. The Ball was the first clock designed by George and his team and it was followed shortly after by the Star, Sunburst, Spindle, Asterisk, Turbine, Flock of Butterflies, Eye and others. The clocks were purposefully abstract and were designed to complement the modernist furniture emerging at the time. As well as wall clocks, George’s studio also produced a series of desk clocks during that time, most notably the bubble-shaped Night Desk...