It is Sunday, and that means it is time for Watch Video Rewind, our chance to highlight watch (and time) related video we find interesting. This week, I thought I would highlight some of crazy home and office clock designs that are out there, the idea coming from the press I have been seeing about the MB&F Balthazar Robot which was recently released.
Of course you want a 17 pound mechanical robot clock with two faces and a 35 day power reserve. Who wouldn’t want that sitting on their desk when the staff comes in looking for a raise. Just change which face looks out to your staff to indicate their chances to get hat bump in pay.
TheWatches.tv alludes to a video regarding L’Epee, the high end clock maker in Switzerland with whom MB&F partners for the clockworks. As much as I love the idea of a time mechanical machine working precisely to drive the movement in a watch, liberating the movement from the constraints of a wearable case allows for incredible complexity and creativity in design.
Not far off from the idea of a clock is the concept of the music box, and MB&F kills those as well. The Music Machine 3, whose design is inspired by the look of a Star Ward Tie Fighter, plays a couple of very recognizable theme songs.
Of course, I don’t have the bucks to pick up one the very expensive and limited edition MB&F clocks. But by freeing the movement from the wrist, other interesting materials can now be employed, like wood, which brings clockmaking down to the home hobbyist. I have not tried it, but the Nonus design from Woodentimes is fairly reasonable and quite lovely. I am sure some of you have dabbled in making a design like this; I would love to hear about your experience.
This project is an awesome little hybrid design, a digital Nixie tube display, driven by a mechanical device, under power. So an electric motor turns a shutter mechanism which allows light to hit a photo receptor, which signals a series of stepper relays to advance the display. Very cool and oh so overly complicated.
And with that, I’ll wrap up this week’s edition of Watch Video Rewind. If you stumble across any interesting watch (or time) related videos out there, or if you make your own Watch Story, drop us a line. If we end up using in the watch video rewind from your suggestion, we’ll be sure to tip our hats (electronically, if not literally) in your general direction.
