Steam-punk pocket watch is deceptively easy to read.

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Design submitted by Anders from Sweden.

Anders says: I recently found this half-finished concept rattling about on my hard drive. I’d left it because I wasn’t sure if it was worth submitting, but when I found it there was a cry of ‘let the public decide’, so I finished it and here it is!

It’s a standard movement with the twist that the hand is fastened to the minute position, and slides against the hour position; it describes an interesting pattern, but is not actually used. Simply look at the pins it’s attached to; the outer for the minutes, the inner for the hour.

As you can see the styling is vaguely Victorian, steampunk-kind-of-thing. I know that (or that it’s shown as a pocketwatch) is not everyone’s cup of tea, so I’m very open to doing it in a different style. It might work well in acetate with a futuristic look, for example.

It truly is deceptively simple, and very focussed. It does nothing but tell the time, but it does it in an interestingly underhand way. As long as the pins that hold the hand can be made to be clear enough it should find an audience.

24 thoughts on “Steam-punk pocket watch is deceptively easy to read.”

  1. I… WANT… THIS…

    I have been waiting forever for TF to release another pocketwatch, and this looks like a design that would be really nice.. 🙂

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  3. Oh cool Anders 😀 I had something like this in mind too but didn’t know how to make it look. I would have never thought about a steampunky look and it looks totally adequate! But there is still something missing which I considered for my idea: the seconds. Please add the seconds! Then you would have a visibly moving machinery display which also goes perfectly with the steampunk theme. Think about it ^^

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    • Thanks for the kind words Sam! Glad you like the steampunk aesthetic.
      I actually hadn’t thought about showing the seconds, but now that you mention it I agree it would look cool. If this gets a positive enough response I might rework it and submit an update. I just need to figure out how to make it work and look cool…=)

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  4. I love the look of this, it looks like a Victorian scientific device. Maybe it’s the controller to the time machine from the film of the same name. Like Sam I like the idea of the seconds being shown but I think you would struggle to have all three linked together. In an ideal world two would be linked and the path of the slide ruler would describe the third but I imagine that would be difficult. Either way great design and was definitely worth submitting! 5/Y best of luck sir! 😀

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    • Thanks Pete! Yeah, I really like the idea of the seconds too… I’ll have to try to come up with something clever for it, and we’ll see if I can be bottomed to make an update…=)

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  7. This is a very beautiful piece, we forget that the watch is even there, and I like that… but it is not something I would wear myself.

    Good work!

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    • Fine by me notaCat, Tastes differ and that’s a good thing! Thanks for the comment, but I wonder what it is about it that makes you not want to wear it?

      Also, I’m intrigued by your avatar. I think I’ve seen that photo (if it is a photo) before, but I can’t be completely sure… Is it a photo of a very (in)famous test, by any chance?

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  8. The first thing that came to mind is that this looks a lot like an astrolabe. Very beautiful and unique design!

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    • I had that somewhere in the back of my mind when I modelled it, actually. =)

      Thanks for the support Dana!

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  9. Looks great. The steampunk look makes me want this, even though I don’t normally like pocket watches! My concern is that adding seconds would make it look cluttered, so would stick with this version. 5*/Y

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    • Thanks for the vote Nev! I see your point about the seconds. It would need to be carefully done to avoid messing up the concept. I’ll have to sketch a bit to see if I can come up with anything useable…=)

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  10. Wow. This is cool, Anders! Maybe have a rose gold/brass version–isn’t that more in the steampunk vein? Maybe the minute/hour pins could have brass heads, regardless of the second material used. Might help them stand out. Makes me wonder what other great ‘reject’ concepts are dormant on your guys’ drives! 5*/y!

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    • Thanks xian! Yeah, the pins could easily be made bigger, and possibly illuminated in some way as well…

      No other rejects of mine, at least not yet…=) Sometimes things need to lie for a while before you see what needs fixing, though…

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  11. Hi Anders,

    I would definitely buy this, if TF produce this design

    I am no designer but i wonder if you could add a bit of marker (a brass line / mini cog / bolt maybe) for the 3, 6, 9, 12 hr, or to make it not as obvious as people would want to in the 4, 8 and 12th hour.

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  12. I like steam-punk inspired things. I also like pocket watches.

    Now about this concept : I like the asymmetric dual-tone case. I like the dual-tone slashed display. I like the sliding bar.

    I wouldn’t add the seconds.

    I would buy.

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