Lucite Ball Clock
Mid-20th Century Swiss Mid-Century Modern Carriage Clocks and Travel Clocks
Metal, Gold Plate
Vintage 1960s French Machine Age Paperweights
Brass
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20th Century Swiss Art Deco Table Clocks and Desk Clocks
Metal, Gold Plate, Brass
Vintage 1950s Swiss Mid-Century Modern Table Clocks and Desk Clocks
Brass
Vintage 1960s Swiss Mid-Century Modern Mantel Clocks
Gold Plate, Brass, Enamel
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Clocks and Desk Clocks
Plastic
Vintage 1960s Swiss Mid-Century Modern Table Clocks and Desk Clocks
Crystal, Bronze
Vintage 1950s Swiss Mid-Century Modern Table Clocks and Desk Clocks
Brass
Vintage 1950s Swiss Mid-Century Modern Table Clocks and Desk Clocks
Brass
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Paperweights
Murano Glass
Vintage 1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Shelves
Metal
Vintage 1980s Swiss Modern Table Clocks and Desk Clocks
Brass
Vintage 1960s Wall Clocks
Gold Plate, Brass, Steel
Vintage 1970s French Mantel Clocks
Brass
Early 20th Century Art Nouveau Mantel Clocks
Brass
Vintage 1950s French Industrial Scientific Instruments
Silver
Vintage 1950s Mid-Century Modern Paperweights
Glass
Vintage 1980s Swiss Modern Table Clocks and Desk Clocks
Wood
Recent Sales
Late 20th Century Table Clocks and Desk Clocks
Chrome
Vintage 1960s Swiss Clocks
Lucite
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Wall Clocks
Lucite, Wood
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Clocks
Chrome
Vintage 1930s American Art Deco Barware
Materials: Plastic Furniture
Arguably the world’s most ubiquitous man-made material, plastic has impacted nearly every industry. In contemporary spaces, new and vintage plastic furniture is quite popular and its use pairs well with a range of design styles.
From the Italian lighting artisans at Fontana Arte to venturesome Scandinavian modernists such as Verner Panton, who created groundbreaking interiors as much as he did seating — see his revolutionary Panton chair — to contemporary multidisciplinary artists like Faye Toogood, furniture designers have been pushing the boundaries of plastic forever.
When The Graduate's Mr. McGuire proclaimed, “There’s a great future in plastics,” it was more than a laugh line. The iconic quote is an allusion both to society’s reliance on and its love affair with plastic. Before the material became an integral part of our lives — used in everything from clothing to storage to beauty and beyond — people relied on earthly elements for manufacturing, a process as time-consuming as it was costly.
Soon after American inventor John Wesley Hyatt created celluloid, which could mimic luxury products like tortoiseshell and ivory, production hit fever pitch, and the floodgates opened for others to explore plastic’s full potential. The material altered the history of design — mid-century modern legends Charles and Ray Eames, Joe Colombo and Eero Saarinen regularly experimented with plastics in the development of tables and chairs, and today plastic furnishings and decorative objects are seen as often indoors as they are outside.
Find vintage plastic lounge chairs, outdoor furniture, lighting and more on 1stDibs.
Finding the Right Decorative Objects for You
Every time you move into a house or an apartment — or endeavor to refresh the home you’ve lived in for years — life for that space begins anew. The right home accent, be it the simple placement of a decorative bowl on a shelf or a ceramic vase for fresh flowers, can transform an area from drab to spectacular. But with so many materials and items to choose from, it’s easy to get lost in the process. The key to styling with decorative objects is to work toward making a happy home that best reflects your personal style.
Ceramics are a versatile addition to any home. If you’ve amassed an assortment of functional pottery over the years, think of your mugs and salad bowls as decorative objects, ideal for displaying in a glass cabinet. Vintage ceramic serveware can pop along white open shelving in your dining area, while large stoneware pitchers paired with woven baskets or quilts in an open cupboard can introduce a rustic farmhouse-style element to your den.
Translucent decorative boxes or bowls made of an acrylic plastic called Lucite — a game changer in furniture that’s easy to clean and lasts long — are modern accents that are neutral enough to dress up a coffee table or desktop without cluttering it. If you’re showcasing pieces from the past, a vintage jewelry box for displaying your treasures can spark conversation. Where is the jewelry box from? Is there a story behind it?
Abstract sculptures or an antique vessel for your home library can draw attention to your book collection and add narrative charm to the most appropriate of corners. There’s more than one way to style your bookcases, and decorative objects add a provocative dynamic. “I love magnifying glasses,” says Alex Assouline, global vice president of luxury publisher Assouline, of adding one’s cherished objects to a home library. “They are both useful and decorative. Objects really elevate libraries and can also make them more personal.”
To help with personalizing your space and truly making it your own, find an extraordinary collection of decorative objects on 1stDibs.
- How do ball clocks work?1 Answer1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022A rolling ball clock works with an electric motor. Every five or 10 minutes, the top rail will deposit a ball onto the next rail to indicate what minute it is in multiples of five or 10. Every hour, the upper and middle rails reset and one ball is transferred to the bottom rail to indicate the hour. Shop a collection of vintage ball clocks on 1stDibs.
- 1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022Although Sir William Congreve patented the design in 1808, Scottish clockmaker Robert Bryson seems to have invented the rolling ball clock. Examples of his work that predate Congreve's patent have been identified by modern-day historians. On 1stDibs, shop a variety of rolling ball clocks.
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