Before examining the graphical display of clocks and time displays, using computer graphics, it is interesting to look at some examples of mechanical, electromechanical and electronic clocks. When discussing physical clocks and watches in this age, we divide them into analogue and digital. Ancient civilisations around the world developed analogue methods of measuring time, using the flow of water or sand.
In 996 Gerbert d’Aurillac (946 – 12 May 1003 CE) constructed a weight-driven clock for the University of Magdeburg, thus he is considered the first to make a mechanical clock. A scholar in mathematics and astronomy, he was the first Frenchman to become Pope as Silvester II in the year 999 until his death in 1003.
These instruments and devices are analogue and work by continuously measuring a quantity: the elapse of time and displaying it with the position of the hands or other indicators pointing to the amount of hours and minutes that elapse. Until the development of electronic clocks, the entire system was analogue. Now almost all analogue-display clocks use high-accuracy digital-quartz oscillators just like digital clocks. They then use stepper mechanisms to advance the second hands in precise increments and the minutes and hours are precisely geared and thus perfectly synchronised with the seconds. It should be noted that, when we are discussing analogue and digital on a computer screen, we are describing only the display. An analogue display has moving hands, or indicators pointing to the numbers, or their assumed position on the face, or has lines or areas, which increase in length on the clock face in a circular pattern, simulating the sweeping motion of hands. Digital displays on a computer monitor use fonts or images. They show actual increments of hours, minutes and seconds as digits.
We have avoided discussion of how time relates to the earth’s rotation and the use of sundials. The measurement of time was related to astrology and the apparent movement of celestial bodies. Before looking at the varieties of clock graphics that can be produced just by lines of code or in some cases combined with images, we can look at an amazing example of a mechanical clock, which illustrates the complexity of this subject and man’s ingenuity in trying to demonstrate it.
The Old Town Hall in Prague in the Czech Republic was established in 1338 as the seat of the Old Town administration. The oldest part of the complex consists of a beautiful Gothic tower with a bay chapel and a unique astronomical clock, known as the Orloj. Here, at every hour between 9 am and 11 pm, the twelve apostles appear. The clock was made by Mikulas of Kadan in 1410 and has had various renovations since then.
Clocks were developed in Europe over the next two centuries and eventually became household items, at least for the wealthy. There are many examples and the clock shown below is a good example of the development of clocks.
The balance-wheel brass lantern clock lantern clock has two driving weights, one counterweight and a verge escapement. It still has the original wheel balance. It was the earliest type of clock to be made in any numbers in England by Thomas Knifton at the Cross Keys, Lothbury, London, England, 1645-1655.
By the 19th century, nautical chronometers were of great importance as aids to navigation. Accurate measurement of time allowed the accurate determination of longitude. An English clockmaker, Thomas Earnshaw (1749-1829), was able to simplify the production of marine chronometers, making them more available. The HMS Beagle that carried Darwin around the world (1831-1836) carried 22 chronometers, one of which, No. 506, is shown below as displayed in the British Museum.
The Shepherd Gate Clock is mounted on the wall outside the gate of the Royal Greenwich Observatory building in Greenwich, London. The clock, an early example of an electric clock, was a slave mechanism controlled by electric pulses transmitted by a master clock inside the main building. The network of master and slave clocks was constructed and installed by Charles Shepherd in 1852. This clock, shown below located near the Observatory gate, was probably the first to display Greenwich Mean Time to the public, and is unusual in using a 24-hour analogue dial.
The above analogue clocks can be contrasted with mechanical clocks with simple digital displays made a century ago.
The digital flip clocks above are known as Plato clocks. The clock in the centre was designed and patented in 1902 by Eugene Fitch of New York City. The clocks on the left and right were made by the Uhrenfabrik Junghans GmbH in Germany.. These clocks were spring driven and required winding every few days. They are some of the first examples of an analogue clock with a digital display. At the turn of the 20th century, these digital display clocks must have been quite a novelty.
Modern electromechanical flip clocks, usually driven by a synchronous electric motor, are often combined with alarms and radios. In recent years they have been replaced by electronic digital clocks with LCD or LED displays.
The Cifra 3 is an electromechanical digital flip clock manufactured by Solari di Udine, S.p.A, Italy designed by Italian architect Gino Valle (1923–2003) in 1965, with significant contribution from John Myer, a Belgian inventor. The Cifra 3 is widely considered a masterpiece of industrial design, using a split-flap display to display hours and minutes. The clock won the prestigious Compasso d’Oro prize for design and is on permanent display in the “Humble Masterpieces” exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and holds a place in the permanent collection of the Science Museum in London. Bodet is a French company founded in 1868. It is a leading European designer, software developer and manufacturer of a wide range of analogue, LCD and LED clocks, known for their quality and precision.
This page shows various examples of actual clocks, using static images. These images can be easily resized on a responsive website, so that they can be viewed in smaller viewports such as mobile phones. The following pages have many varying examples of working digital and analogue clocks created using computer graphics. Unfortunately, because many of the files used to display these clocks have coding, which does not adapt to the techniques used for static images, it is not feasible to have them display on mobile devices, but they can be viewed on a desktop or laptop computer.
We are pleased to launch a compilation of Clock Graphics, which have been compiled over a period of several years, including some of our own creations. We had originally had some on other websites, but felt that there was enough material to put on a website dedicated to the subject, together with some details of actual clocks created over the centuries. There are other clock graphics that are similar to those on this site, but it would take too much time to include all that we have come across, although we may add new ones from time to time. We welcome comments and questions and will attempt to reply as soon as possible.