Modern Clocks
The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw sweeping social change and major scientific advances — both of which contributed to a new aesthetic: modernism. Rejecting the rigidity of Victorian artistic conventions, modernists sought a new means of expression. References to the natural world and ornate classical embellishments gave way to the sleek simplicity of the Machine Age. Architect Philip Johnson characterized the hallmarks of modernism as “machine-like simplicity, smoothness or surface [and] avoidance of ornament.”
Early practitioners of modernist design include the De Stijl (“The Style”) group, founded in the Netherlands in 1917, and the Bauhaus School, founded two years later in Germany.
Followers of both groups produced sleek, spare designs — many of which became icons of daily life in the 20th century. The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics. While Bauhaus principals Marcel Breuer and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe created furniture from mass-produced, chrome-plated steel, American visionaries like Charles and Ray Eames worked in materials as novel as molded plywood and fiberglass. Today, Breuer’s Wassily chair, Mies van der Rohe’s Barcelona chair — crafted with his romantic partner, designer Lilly Reich — and the Eames lounge chair are emblems of progressive design and vintage originals are prized cornerstones of collections.
It’s difficult to overstate the influence that modernism continues to wield over designers and architects — and equally difficult to overstate how revolutionary it was when it first appeared a century ago. But because modernist furniture designs are so simple, they can blend in seamlessly with just about any type of décor. Don’t overlook them.
1990s Swiss Modern Clocks
Brass
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Clocks
Glass, Plastic
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Clocks
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Clocks
Aluminum, Enamel, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Clocks
Enamel, Aluminum, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Clocks
Enamel, Aluminum, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Clocks
Enamel, Aluminum, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Clocks
Polystyrene
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Clocks
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Clocks
Glass
Early 2000s Swiss Modern Clocks
Stainless Steel
2010s Spanish Modern Clocks
Brass
20th Century Unknown Modern Clocks
Metal
Late 20th Century American Modern Clocks
Brass, Chrome
Early 2000s Italian Modern Clocks
Brass
Early 2000s Italian Modern Clocks
Brass
Early 2000s Italian Modern Clocks
Brass, Stainless Steel
Early 2000s Italian Modern Clocks
Brass, Stainless Steel
Early 2000s Italian Modern Clocks
Brass, Stainless Steel
1990s Swiss Modern Clocks
Plastic
20th Century French Modern Clocks
Plexiglass
Late 20th Century Japanese Modern Clocks
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Clocks
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Clocks
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Clocks
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Clocks
Steel
Early 2000s Italian Modern Clocks
Metal
Early 2000s Italian Modern Clocks
Metal
Early 2000s Italian Modern Clocks
Metal, Brass, Stainless Steel
1990s Swiss Modern Clocks
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Clocks
Bronze, Metal
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Clocks
Metal
1980s Swiss Vintage Modern Clocks
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Clocks
Metal
1980s Swiss Vintage Modern Clocks
Brass
1970s Swiss Vintage Modern Clocks
Brass
1950s French Vintage Modern Clocks
Crystal
1990s Swiss Modern Clocks
Marble, Brass
1990s Italian Modern Clocks
Metal
1970s Swiss Vintage Modern Clocks
Brass
2010s Mexican Modern Clocks
Steel
1980s Swiss Vintage Modern Clocks
Wood
Late 20th Century French Modern Clocks
Crystal, Quartz
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Clocks
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Clocks
Metal
Early 2000s Dutch Modern Clocks
Other
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Clocks
Aluminum, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary North American Modern Clocks
Aluminum, Brass
1980s Vintage Modern Clocks
Brass
1970s Vintage Modern Clocks
Gold
Early 2000s Italian Modern Clocks
Stone, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Clocks
Walnut, Fiberglass, Polystyrene
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Clocks
Polystyrene
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Clocks
Brass
1960s Swiss Vintage Modern Clocks
Gold, Bronze
Late 20th Century American Modern Clocks
Wood
1960s Swiss Vintage Modern Clocks
Chrome
Early 2000s Italian Modern Clocks
Wood