is this a real meridian clock?  

Of course it is
I don't have this pattern on my Meridian brochure, but it looks like an Italian ceramic blank and the hands match the ones I have.
I've mentioned this beforem, but it's strange; the 1964 brochure I have does not mention George Nelson or Arthur Umanoff, The Vitra Nelson book does not include any of the Italian-made ceramic clocks, but they're included at georgenelson.org.
I'm surprised you paid good money for a lock you weren't totally sure about.

-one of the nicest of the mer...
-one of the nicest of the meridian clocks I have seen!

Thanks guys!
Well, it looked authentic to me, but I actually didnt pay for it until today, after reading your posts. If anyone had said it was not a real clock, I might have emailed the seller. Anyway, the hands look real, the face looks right and the seller has a good rating. Also, I forgot about the clock until 4 mins. to the end, so I just jumped in. I missed a clock I wanted earlier this week and I didnt want that to happen again. I figured regardless, I like the clock!