Starburst Clock | 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 [...]

George Nelson Starburst Wall Clock

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.