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Howard Miller ball clock -- a knock-off of itself?  

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NULL NULL
(@teapotd0meyahoo-com)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 6 years ago
Posts: 4318
17/06/2009 1:03 am  

Forgive if this has already been posted.

625-333 Ball Clock

This retro clock is an adaptation of a classic George Nelson design that was first produced by Howard Miller in the 1940?s.

The center is finished in brushed nickel, and is surrounded by 12 black satin balls on nickel finished rods. Black hands complete the duotone style.

Quartz, battery operated movement.

Can be yours for $58.


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bustelo
(@bustelo)
Estimable Member
Joined: 15 years ago
Posts: 87
17/06/2009 9:10 pm  

I like mine
I purchased my clock ages ago and enjoy having it.
I have a few of the other nelson designs. I recall a slew of us who post here jumping at the chance to own reasonably priced replicas a few years ago.
I am content that this ball clock is in the spirit of the origninal and is fairly priced from the historic maker.


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whitespike
(@whitespike)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 15 years ago
Posts: 3499
17/06/2009 9:30 pm  

I have the asterisk. It is...
I have the asterisk. It is larger than the original. At 55 bucks, I am not too worried about it. ALthough I will say I do prefer the original proportions, possibly just bc I used to seeing it.


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NULL NULL
(@teapotd0meyahoo-com)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 6 years ago
Posts: 4318
17/06/2009 9:36 pm  

Asterisk
I have not seen that one online... Is it made of plastic too?


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LRF
 LRF
(@lrf)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 15 years ago
Posts: 2967
17/06/2009 10:15 pm  

Asterisk is no longer be...
Asterisk is no longer being made by Howard miller
made for three years ..
ball clock is still being made .
I bought a half dozen for gifts, i would rather own one of these clocks with Howard miller name on it rather than any fake clock, as these will be worth something someday. and they are great looking


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LuciferSum
(@lucifersum)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 15 years ago
Posts: 1874
17/06/2009 10:17 pm  

Company Identity vs Pandering
This kinda bugs me. Not because it's a knock-off, but because Howard Miller was all set leaving production of the Nelson clocks behind and moving into the (I presume, lucrative) grandfather clock market. Which is fine...Except that then the Nelson clocks became popular again and Howard Miller is now kicking themselves and trying to back-pedal. Although I do love the meta-aspect of it being it's own knock-off. What was the song Tom Arnold sings about being his own grandpa? 🙂


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NULL NULL
(@teapotd0meyahoo-com)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 6 years ago
Posts: 4318
17/06/2009 10:24 pm  

Highly doubt
These will be worth anything.
Would rather have another knock-off (that is also made in "China") that actually uses real wood balls for roughly the same price.... if I had to choose.


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whitespike
(@whitespike)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 15 years ago
Posts: 3499
18/06/2009 12:21 pm  

The asterisk is metal
The asterisk is metal


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NULL NULL
(@teapotd0meyahoo-com)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 6 years ago
Posts: 4318
18/06/2009 7:02 pm  

Is it
Also "made in China"?


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Poach
(@chrome1000hotmail-com)
Noble Member
Joined: 6 years ago
Posts: 203
30/06/2009 6:41 am  

Ball Clock's evil twin
Thanks for hipping me to this thread, Woody.
Thought this might give you all a chuckle (or a groan):
I went to the Howard Miller plant several years ago in a vain attempt to find a part for one of my Nelson clocks. This was right around the time that Vitra had begun production of their first 4 repros. While waiting in their offices (clock-in-hand), I received quite a few comments from employees passing through: "Haven't seen one of those in ages." "Those are collectible, you know." etc.
Eventually, I was led to a parts counter in the back of the factory, where after an extensive search, they informed me that I was out of luck. Oh well.
Because of the earlier fuss made over my clock, I stopped back in the office, and asked if they'd ever considered reproducing any of the Nelson clocks. Mid-Century collecting was hot, and the new Vitra clocks showed that there was definitely a market for overpriced repros. I even offered my own collection of originals, as reference. They politely sent me packing, essentially saying that that was all in the company's past. Pretty ironic for a company that makes so much of the "heritage" of its grandfather clocks.
Well, a decade later it seems they finally joined the bandwagon. When I first saw their new production ball clocks, I emailed them to ask about the proportional differences from the original. They replied that it was done intentionally, so that originals would not be devalued. Wish they could have seen my eyes rolling.


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barrympls
(@barrympls)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 15 years ago
Posts: 2649
30/06/2009 6:49 am  

The current Howard Miller company
are really weird. They made cheap unauthorized copies of the Ball (current) and Asterik (discontinued) clocks, yet they barely admit that George Nelson and Arthur Umanoff were ever a part of Howard Miller's history.
If you contact them asking for any information, you get a brick wall....no information, no spare parts, no interest whatsoever.
It's as if Howard Miller pretends that they never made modern clocks between 1949 and 1980.


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