Sometimes the design of an area needs a central piece, that will draw attention to it.  Oversized wall clocks are just one of the possible pivotal pieces you can put in a patio or a court yard..

When deciding on the choice of adorning your wall with an Oversized Clock you first will need to assess the area to be decorated. Is there a particular theme you wish to use? What enters your mind when you sit here? Do you have a particular hobby, or a passion on which you wish to focus?  Whatever style you decide is your topic of choice, there is an Oversized Clock created to suit that theme. .

A Large Wall Clock is the easiest way to add lots of atmosphere to your back yard, patio or pool area.  These large decorative wall clocks are great for embellishing huge, blank walls and can become the solo artistic piece on such walls.  A decoration of this magnitude is both creative and functional.  An Oversized Clock also generates a direct point of interest.  Your guests will be intrigued and fascinated by your ingenuity, and adding a Big Wall Clock is an easy way to add lots of ambience to your outdoor sitting area.

Big Wall Clocks feature high quality designs and are constructed in a wide variety of  styles from old fashioned to modern to suit the most sophisticated tastes. There are large decorative wall clocks that are sculptured from a combination of wrought iron, wood and glass and there are also large decorative wall clocks that are made of plastic and neon lights.

If the outdoor area has no decorations and no theme then choose the Oversized Clock first.  Many of the decorative Large Wall Clocks are made in old fashioned designs,  akin to those wrought iron and stone pieces or ones aged to look like poly-resin clocks.  You may however choose a simpler design like a plain wood disc clock or wood framed large round wall clock.

This would be an uncomplicated way of adding a lot of atmosphere to you outdoor sitting area.  A Large Wall Clock is a wonderful way to start something new. and that is because your new clock will always become the center of interest. Choosing the right kind of oversized wall clock for your wall may have to rely on the overall feel of the area in which you are putting the clock, or on the kind of air you want the place to exude. So, you may select anything that seems feasible the area but do not put limits on yourself, no matter which clock you choose it will most surely make an impression on your guests

One can complement an otherwise bare space and keep accurate time, with a piece of art. A Large Wall Clock is so intriguing and effective. Then for added drama you will feel a need to hang yours where visitors may see and appreciate it. As much practical as they are a decorating element, Oversized wall clocks will emphatically make a statement, and enhance the decor in your home.

Numerals on a smaller wall clock are often difficult to discern, and this may prove to be irksome rather than being an asset.  If one has to stand unreasonably close to the timepiece in order to read the dial correctly then the problem can become irritating and unacceptable. This may happen because the placement of the hands prove laborious when attempting to see and calculate from a substantial distance. The hands on a large wall clock are always distinguishable from a considerable distance, and people love large wall clocks because the overall look is fascinating.

• A Metal Open Dial Clock makes a compelling accent to your indoor or outdoor arrangement. One can clearly behold the Oversized dial from across the patio or the yard. Even on the largest walls the Oversized Wall Clock will surely predominate the wall and command attention.

When contemplating about the placement of an Oversized Wall Clock in your home one must always ensure accuracy when measuring the area where the new clock is about to be placed. One can then be certain that the space chosen is large enough to accommodate your new wall clock.

When positioned correctly a Big Clock can most assuredly make a powerful impact on the wall. Hanging in the middle of fine furnishings a large clock often brings a timeless or antique feel to the room.

Large Wall Clocks make a impressive statement and add to the decor of any room. Whatever you adopt as your best-loved style you can enhance your home, office or business lobby with a functional, beautiful time piece.

An Oversized Wall Clock also makes a revered and enduring housewarming gift, wedding gift, or for that special occasion for a dear friend.

Enhance the design of your room by placing a Large Wall clock on your wall. What ever is your style of choice, you can beautify your home office or business with a beautiful functional time piece.

The word “Chalet” originates in Switzerland and is a type of Alpine wooden hut that has been used for many years by sheep and goat herders. At the end of the nineteenth century in Switzerland the Chalet style Cuckoo Clocks became very popular, and they were highly prized by tourists who loved the Cuckoo Clocks as Swiss souvenirs. Currently there are three basic styles to the shape of Cuckoo Clocks. The Chalet shape of the Cuckoo Clock takes its name from the different Chalets in the Swiss Alps. Two types of Chalets are the most popular, the first being the Brienz Chalet which takes its name from the village of Brienz which is in the Canto of Bern, Switzerland. The other shape of chalet is Emmental which has a steep roof which has a large overhang that almost reaches to the ground. Often the wooden case of the clock is decorated with carved leaves, birds and animal heads. Yet another type of the chalet style is Bavarian and also has the steep roof and an overhang. The Bavarian Chalet Cuckoo Clock is the most popular model for the addition of a Swiss music box which plays melodies. On most Cuckoo Clocks the dial displays Roman numerals.

Hunter Cuckoo Clocks

The Deerhead or Hunter Cuckoo Clock displays a traditional hunting scene on the clock. In the center at the top of the clock is the head of a buck deer complete with carved antlers. Often there are crossed shotguns and dead game animals arrayed around the the dial of the clock.

Grandfather Cuckoo Clocks

Not all Cuckoo Clocks are small and hang on the wall. There are many beautifully carved Grandfather Cuckoo Clocks that are made in the Black Forest, and depict forest scenes.

One Day Cuckoo Clocks

One Day Cuckoo Clocks are pendulum driven and require winding every 30 hours. On the hour a small door in the clock opens to reveal the cuckoo bird which announces the hour with the appropriate number of Cuckoo calls. Thirty minutes later the cuckoo bird anounces the half hour with only one cuckoo. Under the clock are two chains from which are hanging weights usually made of cast iron in the shape pine cones. One winds the clock by pulling on one of the chains, and the other weight is for the sound of the cuckoo bird. Cuckoo calls are reproduced using small bellows and pipes to emulate the sound of the cuckoo in addition to the sound of a gong being struck. The Cuckoo bird sometimes is programmed to move while the clock strikes. The mechanism to do this is by means of an arm which lifts the back of the carved bird.

Eight Day Cuckoo Clocks

Eight Day Cuckoo Clocks work exactly the same as the one day clocks. The obvious difference is in the in the size of the weights which are much heavier in the eight day clock, and this clock only needs to be wound every eight days.

One Day Musical Cuckoo Clocks

One Day Musical Cuckoo Clocks features the same quality mechanics of the the one day Cuckoo clocks, except there is a third weight added under the clock. The extra weight is for the melody played by the clock. On the hour the cuckoo bird will anounce the hour with the appropriate number of calls, and then a melody plays. Two tunes are produced with the aid of a Swiss music box where the notes are plucked on a rotating drum. On the half hour the bird will “Cuckoo” one time only and then a second melody will play. Most often the melodies produced in the clock are “The Happy Wanderer”, or “Edelweis”

Eight Day Musical Cuckoo Clock

Again the Eight Day Musical Cuckoo Clocks are almost exactly the same as the one Day Musical Cuckoo Clocks. The difference is in in the size of the weights under the clock which are much heavier in the eight day clockc. Also the melody only sounds on the hour in an eight day clock, and not on the half hour. Musical cuckoo clocks frequently have other animated figures which move when the music box plays. The moving figures can include people dancing, sawing wood, drinking beer or even a water wheel turning.

Quartz Cuckoo Clock

The Quartz Cuckoo Clock uses a regular clock mechanism, drawing its power from batteries. Depending on the type of battery used these cuckoo clocks will run for approximately for one year on one set of batteries. One will also have to take into account the amount animated movement produced by the clock. More movement will take more energy from the battery. Because of the use of batteries the Quartz Cuckoo Clock is not an authentic Cuckoo Clock. Also missing are the genuine bellows and reeds from the authentic clock which generate the sound of the Cuckoo bird, and which generate the sound of the striking clock. On the hour the cuckoo bird pops out, and even flaps it’s wings, but in the Quartz clock the call of a real cuckoo is recorded along with other sounds from the woods such as a running stream. At that time other animated figures will also move. A volume control is added to increase or diminish the sound along with a shut off swich which will conserve the battery power. The quartz cuckoo also has the advantage of having a photo-cell light sensor inserted. When the light is turned off the cuckoo call is also turned off. There are many styles and types from which to choose your favorite Cuckoo Clock.

Beginning early in the 17th Century many years before clocks were being carved in the Black Forest, Philipp Hainhofer (21 July 1578 – 1647) lived in Augsburg.  He was a merchant, banker, diplomat and an art collector.  Hainhofer wrote about a cuckoo clock which was owned by Prince Elector August von Sachsen.  This is the first known description of a Cuckoo Clock.   Europe then was in the middle of a weather phenomenon known as the “Little Ice Age” which brought extremely cold temperatures in the winter.

Athanasius Kircher was a 17th century German Jesuit scholar (1650). In his handbook on music Athanasiius described a mechanical organ that had many automated figures including a mechanical cuckoo.  This book, was the first to document in words and pictures the mechanical workings of the cuckoo clock.  It goes on to describe how the mechanical cuckoo can automatically open it’s beak while at the same time the cuckoo can move both the wings and the tail.  As the beak opens and closes one hears the call of the cuckoo.  Inside the clock are two organ pipes which are responsible for making the call of the cuckoo.

Domenico Martinelli an ordained priest (1669)  was the author of a book on elementary clock which bore the title “Horologi Elementari”.  In this book Domenico advocates using the call of the cuckoo to designate the hours.  At that time the mechanics of a working cuckoo clock was already known, and any clockmaker who could also read would be able understand that it was both practical and advantageous to have the cuckoo sound off the hours.  Consequently cuckoo clocks began appearing in areas that had not previously been known for their clock making.  It would be a few more decades before Cuckoo Clocks began appearing in the Black Forest.

The First Black Forest Cuckoo Clocks

It is not known who built the first cuckoo clocks in the Black Forest, but is is known that this fascinating and appealing clock quickly circumvented the realm.  One of the earliest known Cuckoo Clock makers was Franz Anton Ketterer (1676-1749) whose heritage is in the Schönwald in Schwarzwald.  By the mid eighteenth century numerous clock makers had set up stores and were producing cuckoo clocks that worked with the aid of wooden plates and gears.  Clocks made here were beautifully carved and decorated with hand painted shields.  The first Cuckoo Clocks were very basic having only square faces and painted with water colors.  As the clocks evolved and grew more refined in their designs, they were also embellished with animated birds who flapped their wings and moved their beaks.

There are many conflicting stories and legends which tell the story of the origins of the Cuckoo Clock in the Black Forest, but none of the stories can be verified.  We also have to remember that  the concept of placing a cuckoo bird in a clock complete with sound and movement did not originate in the Black Forest.  However it is the people of the Black Forest who developed the industry, then improved on the technology and designs which have made Black Forest Cuckoo Clocks highly desired timepieces all over the world.

At the end of the eighteenth century and up to the middle of the nineteenth century Cuckoo Clocks basically consisted of a a flat wooden face with the workings of the clock attached behind the face.  On top of the  face of the clock was placed a semi circular piece of wood which was adorned with beautiful designs and which housed the cuckoo bird.  During the cold winter nights of the mini Ice Age, the clock makers would work making their beautiful highly decorated clocks. In the Spring the clocks  were then sold by door to door by clock peddlers who transported the Cuckoo Clocks by means of a rack which was carried on their backs.  Entire families would work in their cottages making the Cuckoo Clocks and each family member had the expertise of making certain pieces of the clock which was then assembled by yet another family member.

Styles of Cuckoo Clocks.

There are many styles of Cuckoo Clocks, the most familiar being the Swiss Chalet Style which evolved around the end of the nineteenth century.  The most basic type of Cuckoo Clock is the One Day Cuckoo Clock which needs to be wound one time each day.  Next there is the Eight Day Cuckoo Clock which needs to be wound only one time per week.  Each of these clocks has a musical version along with the addition of a Swiss music box.  Animated figures now are added such as a man sawing wood, men drinking beer and even a water wheel turning.  Themes of the Cuckoo Clock include deer heads, dead and live animals, leaves and birds.  Later versions now include a Quartz Cuckoo Clock which does not need to be wound and which has the recorded sound of an actual Cuckoo.

The production center of the Cuckoo Clock is still the Black Forest of Germany, and the Cuckoo Clock is still a favorite of the tourist visiting there.  Many stories including those written especially for children have been tales about Cuckoo Clocks and like the Cuckoo Clocks themselves they remain popular to this day.

Even today some farmers still believe that crops should be planted according to the wax and the wane of the moon.

Initially the first way for people to tell the time was by watching the sun as it moved across the sky.  They saw that when the shadows were shortest and the sun was directly overhead, it was the middle of the day,  and when the sun was rising or setting close to the horizon it was the beginning or the end of the day.  This was not an exact science.

Sundials

Sundials are the oldest devices used for measuring time.  As the sun moves from East to West, the shadow of the pointer moves around the dial.      When using the sundial to tell the time one looks to the number where the shadow of the sundial is pointing.  The drawback with a sundial is that one can only tell the time when the sun is shining, so if it is night time, cloudy or raining then one must use other measures.

Last year I visited the picturesque village of Hawkshead in the Lake District where the famous poet William Wordsworth attended school.  Over the entrance door into the school is a beautiful sundial.  I had never seen a sundial before that was vertical and not horizontal.

Water Clock

A clepsidra (water thief) or water clock was invented by the Egyptians around 1400 B.C.  Time was measured by water escaping from a vessel.  Two containers were used and one container was placed higher than the other.  Water from the higher container traveled down to the small container via a tube.  Marks were placed on the containers, and the level of the water where the marks were placed on the containers told the time.

Many improvements were made to the water clocks over the years.  The Greeks used them and added floats and gears attached to a stick which turned a wheel as the water rose.

The Year Divided into Months and Days

It was the Greeks who worked on a system taken from the ancient Babylonians and Egyptians.  They devised that it took the Earth a year to travel around the sun, and a circle has 36o degrees.  A year has 365 days so the original calender had twelve months of 30 days each with 5 days left over at the end of the year.  It was also noted that it takes about thirty days to move from one zodiac sign to the next, hence the 30 day months.

Dividing the Day into Hours and Seconds.

Babylonians and Greeks divided the day into 12 hours each of light and dark in that the hours from Sunrise to Sunset was 12 hours and from Sunset to Sunrise was 12 hours.  This was based on the equinox days.  Unfortunately the hours are different every day which meant the water clock had to be adjusted daily to account for the difference it times between light and dark each 24 hours.  Hipparchus figured out the 24 hour cycle around between 147 to 127 B.C. but most people still used the seasonal hours for many centuries.  No one knows who finally figured out that it was much easier to combine the two 12 hours to make a 24 hour day.  We still use the 12 hour time in most cases, whereas the Military and Medical Centers use the 24 hour clock.

Hipparchus along with other Greek astronomers used techniques devised by astronomers that had been developed by Babylonians who dwelt in Mesopotamia.  The astronomical calculations used the Sumerial sexagesimal system which was a base of 60.  It is not known why the number 60 was used, but it is the smallest number that is able to be divided by the first six counting numbers, and it is also divisible by the numbers 10, 12, 15, 20 and 25.  This makes it convenient for determining fractions of the hour.

The Pendulum Clock

Many years passed before Peter Henlein in Germany built a spring loaded Clock around 1510, and this invention was not very precise.  Another sixty plus years passed before a Clock with a minute hand was invented by Jost Burgi and this also did not work very well.  Then in 1656 Christian Hugyens made a Pendulum Clock that worked very well, but it would be another few years before the minute hand was added to the clock.

The Pendulums in the first clocks had a mighty swing of around 50 degrees, and as the clocks evolved the swing lessened to about 10 to 15 degrees.  By 1840 the clocks were working with external batteries and by 1940 the batteries were inside the clock.

Quarts Crystal Clocks

Quartz Crystal is a rock that looks like glass, and it is the second most abundant in the earth’s crust.   An electronic oscillator is used and regulated by the quartz crystal to keep time.  The signal is created by the crystal oscillator with very precise frequency, and these clocks are found to be more accurate than the mechanical clocks.  Since 1970 the quartz crystal clock have been the most popular clocks used in timekeeping technology.

Modern Day Clocks.

Now we have Digital Clocks, and the popular Projection Clocks where one does not have to raise or turn his head to see the time.  One has only to look at the ceiling or the wall where the light and time of the clock is projected.  We have Atomic Clocks which keep the most accurate time with the use of Radio Signals from the NASA clock.  Many clocks do not have to be reset when one travels or when the time is changed for Daylight Savings Time.  No more excuses about the clock being wrong when one is late for work.

The Atomic Clocks are so accurate that they compensate for random fluctuations  in time.  In December 2005 a Leap Second was added to compensate for the slowing of the Earth’s movement.

Small, Strong and durable, the Atomic Travel Alarm Clock is perfect for the traveler.  The Atomic Travel Alarm Clocks do not easily break,  and will hold up under most conditions, even when the luggage is roughly handled by the “baggage smashers, at the airport.

An Atomic Travel Alarm Clock would make a most welcome gift for any person contemplating a journey, or for the new student going off to college.

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Earlier I had been pulled over for speeding on base and hauled in front of Group Captain Bignall who had started the Go-kart Racing Club.  To cut a long story short the Group Captain had been watching my performance on base and sent the SP’s (Service Police) after me.  I was placed in a Go-kart and from there I was placed on the A-Team and entered into the National Championships which we won.

Following that race we entered many other races, and I only raced against guys.  One of the races that I was was giving a tankard as the first prize.  The judges were a little taken aback when a nineteen year old girl won the race, and they did not think it was appropriate for a girl to be given a tankard, and so they substituted a Travel Alarm Clock.  Having served with her majesty’s armed forces for almost three years, I had been to many parties, and I would much rather have had the tankard.

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