Author: 24hourtime

Svalbard watches

The Svalbard Watch company have just added more models to their already extensive range of 24-hour watches:

Svalbard july 2018

The two regulator designs show the hour hand in the top small dial, with 12 at the very top; the large hand is the minute indicator. This design, once used on precision clocks, is based on the sensible idea that you probably already know what the hour is, and are looking at your watch more to get some idea of the precise minute.

A description of all new models is available on the official Svalbard website. You can use the code “24HOURTIME24” to get a 7% discount.

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World clocks

World map clocks have always been popular ways of presenting the 24 hour clock and its basis in physical geography.

Here’s a picture of Tom Shannon’s Synchronous World Clock. (Thanks for the link, Tom.)

Tomshannon

The map on the face is by Buckminster Fuller and Shoji Sadao. A limited edition of 20 was made in 1983.

If you’re looking for something a bit more basic, here’s Trintec’s World Clock:

WTC10

You can find vintage versions of this Seiko compact world time clock for sale online. I think it was made in the 1970s or 1980s:

Seiko clock

If you want a more abstract design, you might—if you’re very lucky—find a Willis World Clock from the 1930s:

willis world clock

Looking at all these world map clocks, I’m not sure whether the NorthPole-centered projections are more or less common than the SouthPole-centered ones. I suppose that one advantage of the SouthPole versions are that the clock’s motion can be clockwise, with the hands moving clockwise as the world rotates eastwards. With the NorthPole versions, the eastwards motion has to be reproduced with counter-clockwise motion.

News from the other hemisphere

There’s a well-known observation that 50% of the human population is less than average in terms of intelligence. Statisticians argue with the precise meaning of this statement, but, as someone else observes, “it just seems that way”!

This photograph, taken by Mark Serrels, Editorial Director at CNET News, is from a story that leaps happily onto the pile of evidence in support of the statement.

flat-earth-men

Serrels’ fascinating story, The Bizarre Tale of the Australia Flat Earth Convention that Fell Apart, is about the only two people who turned up to a flat-Earth convention in Australia. It starts off being funny, but soon becomes a sad tale of mental inadequacy and self-delusion.

In this photograph it’s difficult to see whether the convention audience (all two of them) are standing in front of a clock, or just a map that looks like a clock. The numbers around the edge are arranged counter-clockwise, and I can’t see whether it starts with a zero or ends with a 24. It looks like there’s some kind of wiggly pointer aiming to 13…

I think it would make a decent clock. And I don’t think it means that it should be taken literally as a representation of our world.

Projecting a spherical object onto a 2D surface has been a familiar challenge ever since the Greek and Arab astronomers developed the astrolabe, a 2D projection of a complex 3D system, well illustrated by this diagram from Wikipedia:

Astrolabe Stereographic projection on tympan

Clock makers have often used 2D projections of the Earth’s surface as the background for rotating dials, although some have introduced the added complexity of rotating globes, of both the moon and the Earth.

Elsewhere on this site there’s a brief investigation of the map projections that could be used to show most of the land masses on our Earth on a flat disk, suitable for use in a 24 hour clock:

Cartography

azimuthalequisouthannotated.jpg

I ought to remake this image, but for now this image from Wikimedia (by RokerHRO) will have to do:

Azimuthal Equidistant N90

It’s surprising that anyone could mistake this geometric construction for a life-like representation of our planet!

More Svalbard watch models

The Svalbard Watch company have added more models to their already extensive range of 24-hour watches:

24 hour watches svalbard

On the top row: Antikken-AA21B, Elementary-AA20B, and Glacier-AA19B.

On the bottom row: Militaer-Pilot-AA18B, Noonday-AA17C, Sol-Og-Mane-AA16C, and Sol-Og-Mane-AA16D.

A description of all new models is available on the official Svalbard website: http://svalbard.watch

New and previous models are available at the official tax-free store.

Use the code “24HOURTIME24” to obtain a 7% discount. Please let everyone know what you think of these watches!

Svalbard 2018 range

Today’s the Winter Solstice in the UK, and the sun was visible for about 6 hours. Up in Svalbard, Latitude 78°13′N, longitude 15°38′E, though, the sun hasn’t risen for weeks, and won’t be seen again by anybody living there until February 15, 2018.

The Svalbard Company’s watches are inspired by the beautiful, extreme and challenging landscapes of Svalbard and are valued more for their elaborate artistry, aesthetic appeal and fashionable design than for simple timekeeping. The Svalbard company has released new models for 2018:

svalbard-aa16b.png

  • AA16B model: double layer colored dial with sun & moon figures single hand watch.

svalbard-aa17b.png

  • AA17B model: double-twelve (AM/PM) single hand watch, made by request for North American customers.

svalbard-ba20b.png

  • BA20B model: this model is made in honor of the exploration of Svalbard by the Dutch discoverer and navigator Willem Barentsz in 1596.

These new models (and previous ones) are available on the official tax-free store. Use the discount code “24HOURTIME24” to obtain a 7% discount.

Equilibrium: the latest YES watch

Equilibrium at night

The Equilibrium collection is made in titanium with an anti-glare sapphire crystal. It has an ana-digit construction, which means that it combines a Swiss analog hand movement with a proprietary digital display and programming. A powerful chip using complex solar and lunar algorithms enabling a more comprehensive time data capability than found in any other watch.

Here is a listing of what it has to offer:

  • 48x17mm titanium case constructed to 10 ATM water-resistance specifications.
  • 22mm bracelet attachment with locking clasp. Regular titanium color and black IP plating available. Sapphire crystal with AG on inside.
  • Proprietary YES v6 24-hour solunar ana-digital quartz movement. Automatic setting of the 24-hour hand when – location is changed or set. Ronda Swiss movement. Tritium tube on tip of hand.
  • Inner 24 hour dial with 24 tritium tubes in three different colors.
  • Choice of 5 different bezels in black, metallic orange or metallic yellow.
  • Choice of bracelets:
  • 3 or 5-link titanium bracelets with in titanium color or black IP plating.
  • Silicone straps in black, orange and yellow
  • Leather bands in black or dark tan.
  • NATO straps in a variety of colors.

Visit YES Solunar Wrist Watches for more information.

Svalbard

A new company called Svalbard offers both one and many-handed 24 hour watches.

These watches are inspired by beautiful, extreme and challenging landscapes of Svalbard and are valued more for their elaborate artistry, aesthetic appeal and fashionable design than for simple timekeeping.

It is time for you to enjoy the exclusive features of the unusual and rare watches. Make a difference and create that aura of uniqueness around yourself by getting one or more of the unusual and individually numbered and unique timepiece.

Visit the the official Svalbard Tax-Free Store and use the code “24HOURTIME24” at checkout to obtain a 7% discount.

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