Awesome Clocks

One of ThinkGeek’s April Fools jokes. This clock features a very accurate replica of the sun from one of the planets that Rick and the Smiths visited in Rick and Morty. When the alarm goes off, the sun comes up and then screams nonstop for 42 hours.

Wake up to 8-bit tunes with this officially licensed Nintendo Game Boy alarm clock. It looks and feels just like the real thing, and plays Super Mario Land sounds when the alarm goes off. It’s powered by two AA batteries and has removable feet.

A slick modern take on the digital alarm clock. This Wi-Fi connected timepiece can display time, date, weather, notifications, IoT device statuses, stock quotes, and just about any other data. Use code USA20 for an extra 20% off in The Awesomer Shop (through 2/20/18).

The Circa alarm clock has an optional sleep sensor that will tell it to wake you up only when you’re in light sleep. It also comes with several soothing ambient noise tracks and a gentle pulsing light mode. You can also use it as a Bluetooth speaker and Internet radio.

A white-on-black version of Humans Since 1982’s segmented analog timepiece which offers the same 24 analog dials, but a bolder and easier to read display. It’s as amazing as ever, though we only wish it were more affordable. Measures 15.75″ h x 35.5″ w x 1.5″ d.

If Doc Ock had a pet, it would be this. This fantastical desk clock was inspired by a mix of octopi, marine timepieces, and The Abyss. It features eight articulated legs and a rotating glass sphere for its body which houses the clock’s movement. Limited to 150 pieces total.

They didn’t mention it in their pitch, but DC Creatives’ Eta Clock is clearly a rip-off of the Weasley’s magical place-telling clock. Not that it’s a bad thing, what with the original device being nonexistent and all. The only downer here is the price.

Palo Alto Innovation’s Sandman Doppler has stereo speakers, six USB charging ports and is Alexa-enabled. It also has shortcut buttons for your favorite Alexa commands and macros, and an auto-dimming RGB LED display.

A slick new take on vintage Nixie tubes. The open-source Lixie display uses LED edge-lit acrylic sheets to display different digits. Unlike Nixies they can be any color, and don’t require high voltage to operate. Designer Connor Nishijima explains how it works.

La Fabrique DIY’s quaint binary clock. The City Clock looks like a model of a traditional Parisian building, but the lights on its windows actually tell the time. You can also get just the clock’s electronics and make your own enclosure.

For the 5th anniversary of MB&F’s M.A.D. Gallery, industrial designer Frank Buchwald teamed up with nixie tube specialist Dalibor Farny for an updated version of Buchwald’s incredible Nixie Machine. The steel and brass clock can be tuned manually or online via Wi-Fi.

This could be the most complicated clock ever built. We cannot imagine the engineering involved in getting all of its gears, pulleys, and pendulums to work together to tell time. Mark Frank and Buchanan’s masterpiece has been under construction for over a decade.

LaserMad shows off a sweet retro-modern clock that uses high voltage vintage Nixie tubes which float in the air using electromagnets, get their power using a copper induction coil, and transmit the time to the digits using infrared light. Available in kit form or fully-assembled.

Shinola turned its Runwell watch design into a timeless wall clock. The clock has a zinc case, domed glass cover, and aluminum dial and hands. Available with a white, black or navy dial. An optional stand lets you set the clock on a tabletop.

Designer Axel Schindlbeck’s desk and wall timepiece is designed to help improve your math skills. Rather than tell time in simple hours and minutes, it displays equations you must solve instead. Offers four different difficulty levels as your skills improve.

This unique wall or table clock uses the power of magnetic levitation to float its hour hand (er, hour sphere) off its surface, creating a dramatic and minimal display as it casts a shadow on the wooden surface beneath. Want the exact time? An LED matrix display hides beneath the wood.

Marathon Watch Company’s bedside clock not only displays time, indoor temperature, and humidity, but you can choose from 256 different LED backlight colors to suit your mood or environment. It’s also got a pair of USB charging ports built in, increasing its usefulness.

CuClock’s word clock is compact and affordable, but it’s only for people who can afford to take it easy – the clock tells time only in fifteen minute increments. It can be wall-mounted and lasts up to 6mo on two C batteries.

Retro video game fans will love this clock which displays animated pixel art from the classic arcade game. Its 512 individual LEDs show the time along with pixel-perfect art of Pac-Man and his ghostly nemeses. Officially licensed by Bandai Namco. Measures 7.8″w x 4.2″h x 2″d.

Instead of a screen or hands, this Swiss-made digital clock tells the time by embossing the digits on its rubber surface, which turns flat once again in a few seconds. You can make the numbers appear every 30s or whenever the clock detects noise.

Clickspring edited down footage from their extensive 23-part video series of a long-term build which took them over 1,000 hours to create – an elegant, fully functional timepiece built entirely in their machine shop. Sit back and chill for the next 12 minutes of wonder.

Ging-ko’s beautiful portable alarm clock has a wood body with a marble finish. Its white LED digits appear when you snap your fingers, clap your hands, tap the surface that it’s on or when the alarm goes off. It can also display the date and temperature.

A modern take on the old 1970s mechanical flip-dial alarm clocks. The animated LCD face mimics the flip design, but eliminates mechanical issues and the ticking sound which could keep light sleepers awake. It’s also got a super loud alarm that’s sure to wake you up.