More about Nelson Clocks 2
The other thread is getting so long that it's getting hard to upload it.

My Bitossi/Nelson/Meridian clock arrived today. Here's a snap.

Also, I took a snap of an area rug that I took out of storage and shampooed. It even looks nice on my oatmeal carpet and if I ever get a sofa, it'll go on it.


You can read the first thread 'Nelson eye clock 1' here:
http://www.designaddict.com/design_addict/forums/index.cfm?9...

LRF, about the Knoll table
It has perminent rings and the vaneer is a bit raised. Dare I lightly sand it....and try to refinish it? Or should I leave it alone and enjoy it as is?

I got it on eBay quite cheaply.

Here it is
I guess it's solid walnut....not veneered!

Any reason
not to strip the finish off ? I would think that's the way to get most if not all of the rings out -- and just sanding the present finish will likely rub through to bare wood anyway, in spots (you mentioned raised areas, probably water-related) which will make getting an even and consistent finish impossible -- won't it ?

Strip, sand with the grain as necessary, and refinish -- that's the standard procedure. A cabinet shop with a widebelt sanding machine could take any amount of wood off until stains are gone.

Merry Christmas ! SDR

Maybe
Did they ever ever make these tables with a flat chrome leg base, or even chrome X style legs?
----------------------------------
Perhaps....Flo made scads of really cool tables for all sorts of installations, and they were mostly put into regular production.

I strongly suggest you buy the wonderful Knoll book from Schiffer...expensive, but it has everything and the photographs are really nifty.

barry - I'd try using Howard...
barry - I'd try using Howard Restor-a-finish polish (neutral color) and some super fine steel wool before refinishing. I've had good luck with removing rings and every other mar known to man with that combo. If they're too deep, you're only set back $7

3 clocks from All World
I just ordered:
$75.00 Eye Clock
$42.00 Kite Clock
$42.00 Steering Wheel Clock
------
$159.00
plus postage $45.00

Hopefully they will be nifty, too.

I just ordered: $75.00 Eye...
I just ordered:
$75.00 Eye Clock
$42.00 Kite Clock
$42.00 Steering Wheel Clock
------
$159.00
plus postage $45.00

such a good deal from those people
i had to get the rip from
White and pay 125 for the kite 100 for the steering wheel and 150. for the eye clock so you did good my friend....

I will, but I doubt they have 'em
I will but I doubt they have 'em....

By the way,,,,second hand on Meridian's?
By the way, on the Bitossi clock at the top of this thread, was a second originally on it?

I can't figure it out anymore.

All World clocks
Eye clock has a second hand and the Ball clock does not, those are the two I have from All World.

i just ordered three sets...
i just ordered three sets of Hands for various clocks from Vitra and the Vitra eye clock does have the 2nd hand as the kite, nothing else does, The lady said as time goes by(pun on words) and people are replaceing the mechanisms all the time, some mechanisms do not support the second hand, while others do.
a interesting note all the clocks that i bought from white and All world say the quartz movements were made in America, so we are leading the world in quartz movements yea!! so that makes your clocks guys and gals 60 percent made in America as that is the heart of the clock,
I did buy a new Howard miller clock for my little boys room (why i have no idea when i have 100 ) but in big embossed plastic it said made in China,
I am beginning to think that these all world furniture clocks really and truly were the best deal that any of us have come across in a long time, just not a cheap knock off,
I have had the Vitra side by side
and not even a experts could tell the difference just a different factory thats all. with American parts
HELL of A DEAL.

LuciferSum
no more fake then the vitra repoductions that you say you have saved up for.
want a original for your private museum collection? go to wright20 auction or ebay and bid on one.
those are the only originals out there as any other ones including the Howard Millers reissued would be a
fake in your eyes.
It seems like the rest of us have had a damn good time reading and contributing to this thread and buying these fake clocks,for pennies on the dollar and are enjoying the fakes right now on our respective walls. and you know what Lucifersum? I bet not one of us gives a flying F***.

Whatever you need to tell yourself
I guess some of us care about more than money. And some of us are willing to live without those things we can't afford. (or save up for them) Pennies on the dollar or good deals - your clocks are still fake. And I'm willing to take Mrs. Nelson's word about which is an authentic piece long before I'm willing to take yours LRF.

what ever Lucifersum ...
what ever Lucifersum floats your boat and makes you happy?
do you think the Vitra clocks are green approved ? I would not want anything on my wall that is not.... Is any of the wood endangered? you need to find out as the eye clock looks like endangered teak to me, Its only a clock pal not life or death,

As far as Mrs Nelson who cares about what she says she is getting 1 buck a clock so she is happy in Shady Acres

any thing that is reissued is what it is reissued am i gonna have to get Barry to give you a lesson on the correct terms of reissued pieces.

SDR the whole eco green ...
SDR the whole eco green has me totally confused..
I believe that we all have a responsibility to be prudent with the things that we could do to save the planet and the the O zone, but i am sorry we can only do so much and some have no desire to do nothing, as that is there belief,]
as far as the nelson clocks that was more tongue and cheek speaking..... as i have no doubt that any thing that was produced prior to the enlightenment of damage to the ozone was environmentally safe, cause so many harm ful materials were used in the Eames Era, and that is the main reason that Herman miller was the first to sign on as a green company. as they knew it was a good sound move for their company

url
What's the website address for All World?

LuciferSum...
Sure, I would like to have an original Nelson clock...who wouldn't? But I'm not rolling in the dough here. I have funds set aside where I save up for certain items that I want. I'm currently saving up for a Nelson spindle clock. I absolutely love them. I asked for one of the All Around The World knock-offs for Christmas from my dad. They don't carry the spindle clock last I checked so he'll probably get me the eye clock which is my second favorite Nelson clock. I won't actually get the clock until late January as I won't be traveling home until then. My sister is due then, and I couldn't afford to go home for both Christmas and the baby's birth. We're having our family Christmas then. Anyhoo, I'll take a nice knock-off any day then having a bare patch of wall with nothing to hang on it. And I personally consider re-issues to be knock-offs. IMHO, the Vitra clocks ARE knock-offs as they are not originals. I think the only originals are the ones from the actual time-period they were produced in. There are only a certain number of originals left, and they can be quite expensive.

Do I see a problem owning a knock-off. No...not as long as you are happy with it. That's what counts. My parents bought me a knock-off Wegner daybed for my graduation present. It was a surprise. I wasn't expecting it, and hadn't asked for it. I was doing fine with my non-Modern college sofa. My parents knew that I was re-decorating my living room in mid-century modern around a few pieces I got after my grandmother's death. They thought that I would like the sofa since it was mid-century modern and my sofa definitely was not. Do I like the sofa though even though it's not an original. Yes, it's still a nice sofa/daybed even if it isn't a Wegner original, and my parents certainly can't afford an original. And I would never ask them to buy me one. An item does not have to be an original for the user to derive enjoyment from it.

LRF...
Actually, I'm a fine young woman ;) And I also think that it doesn't matter if it's a knock-off if you enjoy it. The daybed I have is very nice even though it's a Wegner knock-off. And it was really nice of my parents to get it for me since they're by no means rich. And I still think a Vitra is as much a knock-off as anything else. If it's not an original then it's a knock-off, IMHO.

And like you, I just had Lasik eye surgery done about 1 month ago. I decided that came before buying my spindle clock. I've always had horrid eye-sight and now I'm 20/15 in both eyes. I still sometimes forget that I don't have to reach for my glasses when I wake up each morning :D

sorry MS Cloudburst2000 did...
sorry MS Cloudburst2000 did not tend to bend your gender, Lascik is great as you can see great perhaps a nice Nelson eye clock to commemorate the occasion.
Barry always makes good points, between knock off and reissues, I am like him and have 95 percent original and 5 percent reissue or knock off, I have been collecting for so long my stuff is so old it can not help from being originals,
The clocks have been my most fun as i have collected almost 100 not all Nelson or howard miller some are the original pot metal from the 40s like the Joe Louis clock, FDR,Will Rodgers, Major Boles armature hour, and almost every cowboy clock ever made, and lots of silly kitch clocks so when we talk clocks that is my fun and passion and i know a few things about them
I also know how to fix them!!! yea

No....
more men than women post here.....

Cloudburst
One of my biggest peeves about knock-offs comes more from this issue of desire; the pervasive idea that simply because one WANTS something, one should be able to HAVE it. Except most people only want the LOOK of something - not the quality and craftsmanship (and therefore, pricetag). What most people want is the status a designer item brings. (would anyone knock off the canvas tote bags you get at the bookstore?)

Quality is important, and it takes time, money, and effort. My father and brothers are very fine carpenters. One is a stained glass artist as well. Two uncles are a painter and a designer. My grandfathers were a construction foreman and an opera singer. My own training is in sculpture and bookbinding. Creativity, knowledge of materials, and specific craft seem to run in my family: I see a very direct link between that knowledge and a high quality piece.

So there is this desire for the status and look of these iconic pieces, for which people are willing to spend money buying knockoffs. That money goes to something that can only ever be a ghost of the original. Example: A shop near wor sells a "retro ball clock" which has the standard Nelson colors: blue, orange, & green. Someone has also seen fit to add lavender and pink. The result is an atrocious approximation of a real Nelson clock. In the same way you can approximate a Jaguar by building a kit car - it doesnt mean that you HAVE a Jaguar - you have some object that only LOOKS like a Jag. Styling aside, the kit car lacks the engine, the horsepower, the inherent value (for resale, inheiritance, etc)of the real thing; all of those things that MAKE it a Jag.

Some approximations get closer than others. A friend (I previously mentioned her buying a horrible knock-off starburst clock) bought the Ball Clock from AllWorld. When she got it the dimensions were very close to the real thing. But 11 of the balls were matte finish - one was high gloss. Also, the hour hand was brown - not orange. Despite being very close, it was still an approximation. Every time someone asks about the clock she'll have a choice: be dishonest and call it a Nelson clock, or acknowledge that its a fake.

I can see the argument about decorative items not being inherently harmful. The basic function is to provide aesthetic appeal (and in this case: tell time) I offer two counters: One, the approximation can never be the real thing. No one will think the Mona Lisa in your bathroom is anything but a poster - however, a knock-off Nelson clock is meant to be dishonest. It's sole purpose is to lie about its origins. At best it's a halfway decent copy, at worst it tarnishes the brand identity of the original. Second, the money spent on a knock-off could very easily be spent towards an actual good design by a lesser known designer. There are plenty of great mid-century clocks that tell time equally as well, and can provide a similar aesthetic appeal. Just ask Aunt Flo.

however, a knock-off Nelson c...
however, a knock-off Nelson clock is meant to be dishonest. It's sole purpose is to lie about its origins. At best it's a halfway decent copy, at worst it tarnishes the brand identity of the original.

sorry but this is so radical thinking it makes my hair go white, you make good points and have always stated things the way you feel but this is off the wall who gives a shit!!!!! should we round up all the nelson clocks and have a big bonfire in Times square, ? Hell no!!! every one who bought one cause they looked good, were good quality, nice decorative clocks, We know they are not the original from Wright 20 Auction house for 700. or hight bid on Ebay with outdated electric plugs,and motors that do not work.
These are not fake Rolexs sold on 57 and 5th Ave in NYC by some Nigerians for 20 bucks!!
I know this is your issue and it is mine also, I hate cheap fake furniture, I have been blessed with a large enough bank account that i can buy the best and I do have the best from My Home to my Cars, to my furniture, No bragging here just thanking the good lord that i have been successful, but that does not mean that i want to throw money around just cause i have it,
I hate to preach but if you could have three nice clocks for 150.00 to make a nice wall assortment why not? one from Vitra is 300.00 . and i tell you pal they are the same , as i have two eyes clocks, one from Vitra one from All world, side by side you can not tell the difference!!!!!!!!, you mentioned the sweep hand, The first series did not come with the sweep hand all the new ones they sell do.
This bull crap about lieing to Joe Blow what the clock is who really cares, call it what you want call it a gift from G-D but if they are going to ostrosize you from current society cause you transgressed and bought a reproduction or less than perfect original on the wall who cares.

you always throw in you could buy a good design by a lesser known designer. why?????? maybe we dont want to buy something buy a lesser known designer maybe just like the way the Nelson clocks look and want to own one being a original or repoduction,
I have tons of clocks from the midcentury a lot of starburst clocks,
I just look at them like them and think no big deal a nice West clock, Nice Elgin, Nice Wembly,



am i wrong here folks ? if i am feel free to let me know!!!!!