barry
The fact too that many of the Vitra clocks do not have the second hand is a big turn off
barry check http://www.klockit.com/ they have the sweep hands for 50 cents
I am ashamed to tell you that vitra wants 18.00 for the same sweep hands,
Now I did buy 4 sets of Vitra hands for $18.00 a set cause they are for the nelson clocks,that i have some of the old paint is peeling and some are bent, so a nice inexpensive update is not gonna hurt a thing, and no one has them but Vitra and that is a ok price, maybe 5 bucks more than the average clock store would sell you a straight hand set, but they are one a kind and if you need them you don't mind paying for them at that price, but the tiny sweep hand for 18 dollars is just unreal and trust me folks it is the same sweep hand as the vitra,
Brand Identity and Design Houses
A knock-off is trying to be something it is not. That is dishonesty, a lie about its origins. Now, I'm not saying that the AllWorlds clocks arent clocks - they are just not Nelson Clocks, no matte how closely they resemble them.
LRF, you should do some research into brand identity - it seems like you don't understand it very well. (not meant to be an insult, just a critique) Brand identity is what propelled these designs into the public in the first place. Nelson Associates - through their partnerships with Herman Miller and Howard Miller - created a style of design that was successful for a number of reasons, including a trust on the part of the buyer that the goods purchased would deliver a certain degree of satisfaction. Knock-offs alter the public perception of the brand reputation and negatively affect the original designs.
Imagine for a minute LRF, that I opened a company here in Boston called RetroRedo, and I started recovering Eames shell chairs. Except I did a crappy job. It would tarnish the reputation of your company that you've worked very hard to build. The fact that Nelson is dead doesnt negate the amount of work he put into building the reputation of his company.
Now, I'm also not saying that current brands aren't hurting themselves. 'Design' is becoming a commodity and a luxury item - but that is a whole other issue. I still stand by my statement that if you can't afford the big boys you go for someone lesser. For the price of one Vitra clock you COULD do a grouping of 3-4 anonymous sunburst clocks from the 50's, or some retro Bakelite clocks. The problem is people only want the name; it is exactly like selling Rolex's on Canal St. If you didn't care about the Nelson name you would be satisfied with an anonymous clock. How awesome are some of the designs below?
Also, Barry, its true that Nelson didnt design every (or even most) of the clocks himself. However, as has been discussed elsewhere in the forum, his company 'George Nelson Associates' produced them. Any design by an employee falls under the ownership of the parent company. Sucky, but true.
i own some of the most ...
i own some of the most awesome clocks you have ever seen by every no name designer of the 50s I like them
but at the end of the day people want what they want and no one is going to change there mind.
go to the mall see how many people a re carrying Coach bags or Louis Vitton, do you really think the company is suffering ? they might act like they are and go public with it but sad to say copying is the serious form of flattey not my words,
I dont think coach sells have gone down cause there are millions of fakes out there There are some like my wife who would not entertain anything but a original but there are a lot who welcome anything and that is what makes the world go around
sad to say not correct but that is the way it is,
If you only want original more power to do you go for it get after it and get the original I like gucci have for 30 years I would never wear fake Gucci shoes or belt cause i dont have to but i would not wear Perry Ellis just cause i could not afford Gucci i would do with out,.
Insane clock
I have probably already posted this, but here's an unmarked, super high quality heavy aluminum clock - probably Italian. It's 11 1/2" square and with a very deep carved out relief...It's great; the slightly diagnonal lines makes the clock look not quite square!
The darn second hand fell off and thanks to one of my cats, it got ruined, and it's gone now.
I don't buy...
pieces of mid-century furnishing for the status symbol. I buy what I think looks good even if it's not by a major designer. Some of my stuff is by well-known designers and some not. I'm not the type to go buy something just because it's by this or that designer. I buy what I like regardless of who designed. I don't buy things because I think people will go 'Oh, you have a piece by George Nelson.' If it happens to be by a famous designer, so be it. If not, I don't care as long as I enjoy it. And none of the people that I know outside of my architect brother-in-law know anything about designers anyway. You're acting like everyone buys these clocks for the status symbol, and that's just not true. Many people just think they look cool...much cooler than anything designed lately. If you like the look, why not buy even if it is a knock-off. As long as the buyer enjoys it, I see no problem with it. Now with the eye clock I know that I'll be receiving from my dad, I would not tell anyone that it is a George Nelson product. Not that they'd even ask. And if they did, I would tell them up-front that it's a knock-off of a George Nelson design. I'm buying things for decorative purposes...not to socially-further myself.
cloud
Not that they'd even ask. And if they did, I would tell them up-front that it's a knock-off of a George Nelson design.
It is a exact George Nelson design just not a authorized reissue made by Vitra or the original company Howard Miller,
If it had purple hands and White wood
instead of teak it would be a knock off of a George Nelson design.
Well...
I wouldn't tell someone that it was a George Nelson. I'd tell them it was made according to the George Nelson specs, but I'd never say that I owned a George Nelson clock. I personally only consider the originals to be true George Nelson clocks. I consider Vitra, All Around the World, etc to be remakes of George Nelson designs, but not true George Nelsons (not that many of them were actually designed by Nelson anyway). If someone asked (which they wouldn't...at least not in my friends/family), I'd make sure that they knew it was a replica and not an original. And no, I don't see anything wrong with owning a remake or a knock-off. I own some remakes/knock-offs myself. Anyhoo, that seems to be LuciferSum's biggest peeve is someone trying to socially-further themselves by passing knock-offs/remakes as the real thing. I just think that many people own them for the cool look not as status symbols.
James thanks to you for find...
James thanks to you for finding all world, you started all this madness,
Klockit is a helpful website for the little sweep hands, shipping can be more than the cheap little hands so order several and order a movement for 5 bucks so easy to put in your clocks,It is a
very helpful web site if you are serious about clocks like i am, and need the parts, you can buy the movements, the same that vitra uses in their clocks and they do charge a buck more for the American made movements.
If any one needs spare parts for their Nelson clocks
email patty miller her email is patty.miller@vitra.com or call 610 391 9780 x 119 they
sell the hands for 18.00 for the set and have all the
hands for the clocks in production now, that they sell. They also sell the movement part for $18.00 and the sweep hand for $18.00 so if you want to be 100 percent right with G-D and want no dirty unlicensed parts in your clock. give her a call.
The proper dimensions of a Nelson Eye Clock...
Whether you call it a reproduction or a knockoff, the Eye Clocks being sold today do not conform to the specifications of the original. As an initial matter, the "lashes" or hour markers are inverted on the reproduction. For whatever reason, Vitra erroneously put the long end of the lash on the inside of the clock, instead of the outside. Second, the original eye clock was slightly fatter than the repro. And at least my original one has never bowed. Also, I think the Vitra clock's wood is stained to a walnut color, rather than actual walnut, but I can't be sure of that. It just looks a little fake up close.
As we all know
As we all know, Vitra has had the rights to produce Nelson since 1957/58. Its not like the clocks are something new to them. I'm not saying their aren't some difference between the vintage clocks and their contemporary productions - although every piece of literature states that the clocks are produced from "the original design documents in the Nelson archives with the blessings of the Nelson estate", and Im almost certain the wood is walnut. I'll have to check the one my friend has.
Interestingly enough, check out the vintage pieces below via Architonic. Both are clearly bowed.
Lucifersum...
I haven't...
Lucifersum...
I haven't really followed the Nelson original vs repro clock madness on the forum lately, but I actually thought Vitra only recently (in the 90's) started to make the Nelson clocks.
I know they had the European rights (together with NK in Sweden and Hille in the UK) to produce Herman Miller products since the 50's, but I didn't think they did any of the Howard Miller stuff until much later?
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