More about Nelson Clocks  

Yup...that spike(y) clock
is ab absolute knockout....I'm lusting over it, but there's no way I'm going to pay what it's clearly worth.
In the overall sceme of things, it's one of the more remarkable and elegant of the "Nelson" wall clocks.
http://cgi.ebay.com/rare-george-nelson-wall-clock-howard-miller-eames-ju...

as most know on this ...
as most know on this forum I have been collecting Nelson clocks for years. I have a pretty good idea what they are worth, and how much to pay for them. I still am baffled by the guy wanting 14,000 for a nelson clock and more baffled about some gal wanting 750.00 for a Umanoff from the 70's
I think some people get excited, when they find one at a flee market or estate sale. and some one will tell them that one is worth a fortune!!, and you can retire for ever if you sell it on ebay, ....just not the case, the clocks sell for only what some one will pay and the one paying for it knows what it should sell for. Sad these idiots waste time listing it on ebay thinking they are gonna make a killing. try wright auction.

Lloyd,
have you ever found this diamond spike clock? I've only seen pictures of it....it's expensive and out of my range, but heck, it's sure is a honey, isn't it?

barry
I have seen the clock in the old catalogs and it is a great one..
sorry I cant spend 2000 at this time for that clock but it is a good one,

I'm in total agreement....Lloyd
beautiful clock, but if I had the dough, I wouldn't pay more than $500.00 for any clock....call me silly.

so...
Since we are all enthusiasts here of the clocks...
To those of you who have seen the Vitra book, does it give a comprehensive list of every clock produced with photo? I've heard it is a very comprehensive book...
Anyway, if it has not... with all our knowledge here - Is anyone up to the challenge (I'll be happy to host it) of a page that does exactly this - Lists every model number, and variation of it with a photo of that clock? I realize we are probably missing a ton of images, and some of them are extremely terrible (The Sphere Mine clock) but is anybody interested in doing this? I'd love to do it if not just for us here...
Let me know or email me.

For $2700 you can buy the following
clock on eBay. It's one of the earliest Nelson table clock, but it's out of my price range, for sure. Beautiful, for sure and probably worth $1000.
It's the 4760

vitra book
reactcreative: the Vitra George Nelson book has, in my opinion, an almost complete listing of all the clocks designed by George Nelson Associates for Howard Miller. It has around 130 some designs, starting in 1949 to 1968, four in '69, three in '77, and the Tempo series in 1984, his six last designs. There are not pictures of every single clock, but there are many. There are some designs and pictures I have never seen or heard of before and there are a few designs missing from their lists that I know of. Unfortunately, many of the pictures are not very good and some that are missing I think could have been easily obtained with a bit more effort. Still, it offers many great bits of information, some truly rare photos, tells who designed many of the clocks, and offers a chronology. Over-all, it is a great book to invest in if you are truly a Nelson enthusiast. Although I don't agree with all of the book's information, and I wish that the book had more and better pictures of the clocks, I am very glad that I bought it. It shows everything that George Nelson Associates were involved with, much more than just the clocks.

I clock...the Nelson catalog is not available
in the US as of this moment, unless you contact Vitra's New York retail store.
You can not get it from Amazon. You can not get it Barnes & Noble, Borders, or any other US book seller.
You can not get it from MOMA, or any other modern art museum.
You can buy it directly from Vitra for $155.00 plus $7.00 shippping from the New York Vitra store, or over the web from Vitra Switzerland for 72 euros plus 30 euros for shipping.
I'm dieing for the book, but Vitra has their finger in their nose about making it available in the US, and I'm not crazy about spending $155.00 for the paperback....but I will if I cannot find it anywhere else.

barrympls...sometimes you just need to make an investment...
After spending the last 20 some years collecting Modern design and accumulating close to 50 different vintage Nelson clock designs (and I do mean Nelson Associates designs, not Umanoff,or Irving Richard's ceramic Meridian clocks, or other clocks designs done by other designers for Howard Miller not working for Nelson Associates), I felt that spending 140 some dollars (that's what it cost me) and buying the book directly from Vitra was a worthwhile investment for me. The book helped me fill in some gray areas in some of the information I had already known about Nelson clocks. There always seems to be so much misinformation on this forum about Nelson clocks. Except for MidMod50, (he knows his stuff), everyone else just seems to be speculating or guessing on the subject. The Vitra book really does clear up a lot of things.

As stated earlier,
I will buy the book....but I keep hoping to find it for a bit less.

The
danger being with niche publications is that the initial print run sells out and they don't get reprinted.
In which case the price will soar- it's a gamble...

Back in November, I made an inquiry about
this Nelson catalog and was told by Vitra that it would be made available all over the US in January. Problem is, this has not happened.
Other Vitra publications are available from Amazon, as well as the various museum shops that specialize in Modern Design...but thus far, Vitra hasn't been organized enough to actually release the catalog in the US.
I'm not sure you can go to your Modern museum's book store in England, France or Germany and find this catalog, either.
Seems to me that Vitra is not very organized about making this publication spotlighting their biggest exhibition of the 2008/2009 season.
Wonder what's going through Vitra's head?

The
Design Museum bookstore in London only has these:
http://designmuseumshop.com/exhibitions/previous/vitra-editions

The book and other clock topics...
The book is hardcover. It will be available in the U.S. at some point along with the exhibition, which I still understand is coming here in 2010.
However, I would recommend the book at any price as an investment to anyone who is considering the purchase of Nelson clocks, as you are unlikely to mistakenly buy a Umanoff or other imposter clock if you have the book in front of you.
Couple of thoughts on recently available clocks... The spike diamond went for a song, $2,000 for a clock like that is a steal. I thought about bidding even though I already have one.
The tripod clock on ebay is now down to $1,750, but is still overpiced. It's not that uncommon.
Does anyone know who designed this one? http://cgi.ebay.com/Retro-George-Nelson-Eames-Era-Howard-Miller-Clock_W0...
The ebay listing attributes it to Nelson, but I don't think it's his. I have one of them (Model No. 630) and have always thought it to be a cool design. Btw, there is a very overpriced kite table clock ($4,900) listed on another site. It's a cool design, but values have gone down significantly since Vitra reissued it.