George Nelson | Buy Retro Clocks

Faux Flip-Clock Alarm Dock
Although strictly speaking, this isn’t a phone, this cool iPhone dock from Areaware converts you existing iPhone into a neat retro-looking flip clock radio that looks it warped right in from the 1970′s. It gives you the look of one of those vintage GE Flip Clocks sitting next to your bed with all the modern technology and convenience of your trusty iPhone. Designed by Jonas Damon, the Alarm Dock by Areaware contains no actual electronics or speakers, it is simply a beautiful sustainably harvested beech wood case that you feed your charger cord into, then just dock your iPhone 3G, 3GS, 4 and 4S and start [...]
Test Page Wall Clock
Please Stand By… From Nextime, Dutch design company which has made a name for itself by designing a whole slew of cool and funky clocks from the modern and mundane to the down right wacky, the contemporary styled Test Page Glass Wall Clock lies somewhere right in between. This glass faced wall clock was designed by Fritz Fink as a humorous take on the retro, nostalgic old test pattern shown on televisions when the networks went off the air. Gosh, it’s hard to believe there was a time when TV wasn’t running 24 hours a day. With a large, multicolored, 17″ glass face and rectangular metal hands [...]
Stylish Number Design Wall Clock
Cool Number Wall Clock! A recent trend in wall clocks has been oddly shaped numbers free-floating around the central movement and I have to admit that I am kind of a sucker for these contemporary clocks. I have seen them made from wood and plastic but the vast majority of them a cut out of thin metal with a plasma cutter. But anyone that has seen these clocks around has to admit that these number clocks can very widely in how well they are executed. Like any trend, the market is soon flooded with poor quality reproductions that don’t show [...]
Cool Retro Flip Clock
Remember the retro flip clocks from the 60s? The precursor to the digital clocks of the 1970s, flip clocks were an analog method of showing the time as a digital representation. As the minutes pass by, a panel with half of a numeral printed on both front and back flips down. The two halves of each digit fit together to form a bold and easy to read number to indicate the minute. The same thing is repeated once an hour to show the hour. It is a very simple mechanical solution from the days before miniaturization created circuits that were small enough to fit [...]
Build A 7 Ft Grandfather Clock With K’NEX
How would you like to build your own full size 7 ft tall, fully functional grandfather clock? Well unless you have years of experience in fine woodworking, this is probably something you are not going to attempt. Well, it may not be as hard as you think is you choose the right building materials. When my son was 7 years old we bought him a small set of a plastic building toy called K’NEX. It is kind of like the modern-day answer to the old Erector Set. Over the years, we collected more and more sets and his building projects expanded to be more and [...]

Spoon and Fork Starburst Wall Clock

Mar 122012

Retro design legend George Nelson has created many cool retro starburst wall clocks in almost every size shape and material you can think of but one of the most popular takes on this timeless design is the Spoon and Fork Starburst Wall Clock. While this cutlery clock concept is often imitated it is rarely duplicated by the original classic design of the starburst clock master.

The Spoon and Fork Clock is a perfect kitchen clock but that is kind of a no brainer, it is also great for your dining room or for your favorite foodie, chef, cooking enthusiast or anyone who just loves retro starbusts clocks. It has a metallic face and tall modern looking numbers and it points the time with a small fork and knife as hour and minute hands, there is no second hand.

The Fork and Knife Starburst Wall Clock is made by Control Brands and while it is officially licensed by the George Nelson estate it is nowhere near the quality of many of many other Nelson clocks on the market like the beautiful clocks being reproduced by Vitra. Although it looks like metal it is actually made of some sort of metallic plastic material and it is pretty fragile, so you need to be careful when removing it from its packaging. This retro wall clock is strictly a novelty clock but once you get is up on the wall you need not worry about it bending or breaking. But it looks great and it is accurate and as whimsically retro as any of the George Nelson starburst clocks.

One other criticism I have is that the knife and fork clock hands are similar in color to the face of the clock making it somewhat difficult to read from a distance sometimes. Taken for what it is this is really a neat kitchen clock and should provide a uniquely modern touch to anyplace that involves the culinary arts.

This distinctly retro timepiece can go for as much as $60 – $75 dollars but I wouldn’t recommend paying that much for it. The best price I found The George Nelson Spoon and Fork Starburst Wall Clock was through Amazon for the bargain price of only $27.45.

George Nelson Diamond Desk Clock by Vitra

Retro Clocks No Responses »

Feb 032012

When it comes to retro clocks, George Nelson is be best known for his whimsical and iconic wall clocks but he also designed several cool and modern desk clocks as well. Designed in 1953, the Diamond Desk Clock is a solid wedge of walnut finished wood standing on a tripod made from three brass rods that pass through the clocks body from top to bottom.

George Nelson Kite Clock

Similar in shape to Nelson’s colorful Kite Clock which is a diamond-shaped wall clock bisected in the middle with two shades of color. The Diamond Desk Clock breaks the third dimension using two sloping planes to create the divide and coming to a pyramid-shaped point in the rear. The brass movement consists of a short fat arrowhead shaped hour hand, a long and slender minute hand and a bright red sweeping second hand. The hours are marked off with short brass pegs in all but the 12 o’clock and six o’clock positions.

With the increasing popularity of George Nelson designs, the Diamond Desk Clock was recently re-issued by the Vitra Design Museum with permission from his estate. Vitra used his original design documents on record at the Nelson archive to re-create it to Nelson’s original design specifications utilizing a high-grade quartz clockwork movement to create a cool and retro executive desk clock that looks great in any office, either in a home office or at your workplace.

You may think that a desk clock is an odd thing for George Nelson to design but many people have known idea that Nelson is somewhat responsible for the modern workplace as we know it today. In the early 1960′s as the Director of Design for Herman Miller he supervised the team that developed the Action Office I. An innovative and award-winning, yet not terribly successful system of office furnishings. After being removed from the project, it was handed over to designer Robert Propst who devised the Action Office II line which went on to become Herman Millers most successful line ever. You may know this line by the term it is better known as today, the dreaded “office cubical“. Nelson has always distanced himself from the project, criticizing it for its “dehumanizing effect as a working environment”.

Like all the re-issued vintage clocks from the Vitra Design Museum the George Nelson Walnut Diamond Desk Clock isn’t cheap, going for around $505.00. But that price really isn’t out of line with any other executive desk clock of a similar quality. If that is a bit to rich for your blood, there is a less expensive version of the Diamond Desk Clock from Vitra made to the same specifications but with a polyurethane body rather that solid walnut. Both retro desk clocks are available from Velocity Art and Design.

George Nelson Starburst Wall Clock

Retro Clocks No Responses »

Nov 112011

Few retro wall clocks are as iconic as those designed by George Nelson for Howard Miller in the late 1940s and 1950s eventually designing over 150 amazing wall clock designs. The Starburst Wall Clock is probably one of the most popular of these cool, vintage styled clocks.

Unlike the similar Sunburst wall clocks which had a similar shape but came in black or wood finishes, the Starburst Wall Clock is recognizable for its bright modern colors. It has a cheerful and positive appearance that is recognized and appreciated to this day. It makes a great kitchen clock or it can be a charming focal point in any retro home decor.

The George Nelson Starburst wall clock is 18 1/2 inches in diameter and was originally plugged directly into the wall with a power cord. At the time they retailed for about $30.00 and were quite good sellers. Nevertheless, very few have survived to this day and it is very hard to find a true vintage Starburst Clock today.

An original version of this icon of modern design is quite rare and sells for several hundred dollars and up which made having that quaint mid-century look a bit difficult until recently when the Vitra Design Museum re-issued many of George Nelson’s original designs. These aren’t just cheap knock offs either, each re-issued wall clock is meticulously crafted to the same standards as the original Howard Miller wall clocks and are authorized by the George Nelson estate.

It does have a modern quartz movement and keeps perfect time off of a regular AA battery so there is no plugging it into the wall, but other than that it is constructed from the same lacquered wood and zinc alloy body and made with the same proportions and colors as the authentic original.

I have seen many of these Vitra Design Museum’s re-issues for up to $350.00 and even more but that is not surprising because of their high quality and fun design, but if you look around like I did, you can find them for a much lower price. I found a George Nelson Starburst Wall Clock here for only $136.80 which is a pretty amazing price.

So if you want a cool retro wall clock with an authentic look and style, the Starburst Wall Clock is a great choice.