Sunburst clocks

I've always liked the "Sunburst" clock by George Nelson

It was designed in the fifties, but you can still buy them.
http://hivemodern.com/products/?cid=42&cid2=49
They're expensive, over $200.00. Nelson designed a bunch of clocks with this Starburst pattern. Like these.





Anyway, this was a popular design and there were allot of imitators. Like these





I see the imitation at garage sales all the time. I had the idea a couple of weeks ago to buy one and paint it like the Nelson clock I like. I found one exactly like this for $3.00. It's an Elgin

Detail

So after $12.00 in spray paint and some new clockworks from the craft store. I came up with this.

I cut the new hands from balsa, it keeps great time. After I painted it I realized I didn't have a before picture, so I searched E-bay for one. This Elgin Clock goes for almost a hundred dollars. If I knew that before I started I would have listed it on eBay instead of painting it. Now I feel like I defaced it. Oh well!! I like my new clock.
Mahalo,
Al

[ Edited by: Alnshely 2009-05-24 23:43 ]

[ Edited by: alnshely 2009-05-26 08:50 ]

What a great ironic story. Got a $3 clock you painted to make a $200 clock fake, only to find it was a $100 clock originally! D'oh!

Like they say Al, "Timing" is everything!
Oh well, it looks tres-cool now. You got me thinkin' too because we have a few of those old sunburst clocks around here that Mrs. 8FT had me drag in. Wonder if she'll notice them missing??

Save the Tikis!

[ Edited by: 8FT Tiki on 2004-03-25 22:42 ]

[ Edited by: 8FT Tiki on 2004-03-26 06:20 ]

Alnshely, thanks for posting the pics; I love the variety of things we see in beyond tiki. I saw a few sunburst clocks at an antique mall a couple years back but opted instead to buy some googie glassware; I haven't seen any decent sunburst clocks since. When I was a kid we had a thermometer of that design.

great clock. i like the paint job. everything you guys make turns out really cool. i also love your lamps.

Great stuff ALnS.

Your post got my little-used cells firing, I remembered seeing some repro's of the above clocks online:

Starburst

Ball

More

[ Edited by: Atomic Cocktail on 2004-03-26 10:02 ]

Nice job, Al! I have one similar to the second imitation clock down from the top. I wish I could find a starburst light fixture for cheap!

On 2004-03-25 19:08, Alnshely wrote:

It was designed in the fifties, but you can still buy them.
http://www.hivemodern.com/clocks.htm

DOH! I guess I should read more carefully!

Hey Atomic,
The clocks you found are only ten times cheaper. Good deal.
Mahalo,
Al

Al, I saw the exact same clock today at the Salvation Army as the 2nd imitator down in your original post, the one that looks like it's on pink carpet. It's an electric clock and looked to be in excellent shape but it wasn't plugged in so I don't know if it runs or not. I was tempted to buy it but I didn't. Is this a valuable clock? It was selling for 10 bucks. Should I go back and buy it on Monday?

SDT,
I know original Nelson clocks sell for bank. I don't really know much about the imitators. I was totally blown away that the clock I painted went for $100.00. Check the "completed items" on the Ebay search. It will give you an Idea of what's out there and what it is selling for. When it comes to reselling stuff on Ebay, it's kind of a roll of the dice. I see clocks like this all the time so if you think the asking price is too high I know you'll see another soon. Also if the clock wont run you can change out the clockworks. I bought mine at Michaels Craft Store, for under $8.00. That's a cool clock, let me know what happens.
Mahalo,
Al

[ Edited by: Alnshely on 2004-03-28 19:42 ]

Plans for an edible, ball clock
http://www.thwartdesign.com/progresspg/withoutpg/dwor_ball.html

On 2005-04-06 10:50, Alnshely wrote:
Plans for an edible, ball clock
http://www.thwartdesign.com/progresspg/withoutpg/dwor_ball.html

That's hilarious!

It really boggles my mind that many of these modern designers were using (then) new materials and techniques (like formed plywood and plexiglass) to make stylish items that the average person could afford. And now their designs are being sold by catalogs like DWR where you pay $4000 for a chair.

I have a George Nelson "knock-off" ball starburst I picked up at T.J. Max a year ago. I believe it was in the clearance wing. I think it paid under $10 for it. I don't recall.

I have the exact clock shown in one of the pictures! bought it for $30 on ebay, looks great on my wall but it needs a new movement.

On 2005-04-08 08:52, tiki-riviera wrote:

I have the exact clock shown in one of the pictures! bought it for $30 on ebay, looks great on my wall but it needs a new movement.

I picked up a syroco sunburst clock in a thrift store a few years ago for a few bucks. It wasn't working, but I took it to a clock repair store and they put a new quartz movement in it for about $10. They had all sorts of different hands to chose from to match with the style of the clock.

Since this thread has popped back up, just thought I would mention that I bought a knock-off of the Nelson multi-colored ball clock (shown in Al's pictures) at T. J. Maxx the other day for $12.99. It looks great on the wall, but cheaper up close. Still cool for not much money! Just a head's up!

waikiki

(photo from e-bay)

I found one of these, made by Westclox, Canada for $4 at the Value Village.

Mine's face is kind of scratched up, the 11 is worn off and was redrawn with a jiffy marker.

I'd like to get it working and pretty it up a bit. Possibly either chrome or paint silver the metal bits and give it a new face? The white paint of the little starburst on the face is worn, and doesn't look it's best.

The chrome(brass?) colour on the spikes is wearing off, revealing what looks like white plastic underneath, although it's definitely metal. This'll look super swell in my 50s/60s dining room, I can't wait to fix it up!

Any suggestions would be appreciated!
Thanks! :)