andrew.eatherington : websitemaker

Will Aspinall and Neil Lambeth have a new take on the clock; as a piece of kinetic art and a revolutionary timepiece.

The clock has a spiral face and, as the whole body of the clock turns, a ball rolls gently along the spiral channel passing markers that denote the current time. Once it reaches the centre of the spiral the ball falls through a hole and returns to the outer band where it starts again. Each journey to the centre of the clock takes 12 hours.

Will, who is a documentary producer, came up with the concept in August 2006. After initial exploring the idea and building a prototype the project moved along slowly. Will then met Neil while working on a documentary. Being a Special Effects expert, Neil had experience in mechanical engineering and electronics and while working together Will chatted about his vision. For years, as part of his job, Neil had made one-off gadgets and he saw this as an opportunity to develop a product that could be manufactured and sold as a consumer item.

In January 2008 the second, engineered prototype came into being. The clock was then developed in between their day jobs until finally in July 2009 the first clock rolled off the production line.

The Aspiral clock is handmade and retails at £350. More details can found on their website: www.aspiralclocks.com.