Kerstin Nill and Sebastion Pehl’s “Zeitgeist Clocks” are like miniature modern museums in their own right. These flip clocks feature a work of art on every frame, providing 1,440 display combinations– one for every minute of the day. The Zeitgeist Metropolis Clock presents architectural designs from across the world. The Typoism version is for font freaks and lovers of all things typeface, including 1,440 font art combinations. Rarely do you find a clock that you want to watch for hours… or see something new almost every time you take a look. As it translates from German, Zeitgeist means “the spirit of time”. Its obvious Nill and Pehl captured this in these cool new clocks.

Buy (Metropolis): $300

Buy (Typoism in Time): $400

Large print books? How about a large print CLOCK? This numeric design sold by Chiasso is a great combination of eye-grabbing modern functionality and whimsical wall art. The laser cut metal with black finish contrasted with frosted glass is a nice use of the source materials. Best of all, it runs on a single AA battery. No need to mar the presentation with a dangling power cord.

Buy: $228

The Gator SE from Furni is simplicity defined. None of the ugly clutter of standard alarm clocks, this one is made of beautiful beech wood and comes in a “naked” unvarnished edition if you prefer natural wood. All controls are hidden away in the back of the unit so you get nice, clean lines and a back-to-nature feel. Except for the red LED, of course. Available in natural beech wood or with a dark brown stain.

Preorder: $128.

The Just A Moment by Reddish Studio clock takes the typical wall clock idea apart–literally. The hours, minutes, and seconds are all divided into their own timekeeping sections, drawing attention to itself with the symmetry of the hands and the continual motion of that red second hand. This isn’t just a clock, it’s a mechanical work of art great for spicing up an otherwise dull or under-appreciated section of wall space. This one comes by way of Fluke Collective, a very nice addition to your home office space or library nook.

Buy for $72.00

A single AA battery powers this ingenious off-the-wall clock design. Stash it in your bookshelf for a subtle look, or stick it between two bookends to draw more attention to the design. Either way, this is a book-lover’s gift all day, and if you aren’t ordering this for your librarian auntie or bookworm sister right this minute, we’re guessing it’s because she already has one.

Buy for $24.99

GearCrave caught this one on http://www.heise.de/. Since we’re not multilingual, it was painful to try and read the specs on this amazing custom clock built from an old hard drive. So sayeth Heise.de:

“Und so funktioniert das Ganze: Der Synchronmotor, der die Magnetplatten antreibt, rastet in 16 Positionen pro Umdrehung stromlos magnetisch ein. 12 Positionen werden dabei als Stundenanzeige genutzt, nach 12 Uhr muss der Motor 5 Schritte weiter laufen, um wieder bei 1 Uhr weiterzumachen. Der Schreib-/Lesekopf, der mit einem Schrittmotor angetrieben wird, rastet ebenfalls stromlos magnetisch ein.”

Roughly, that’s telling us that this cool-looking hard drive clock uses a synchronous motor to turn the magnetic disks, which rotate to 16 positions per revolution. There are 12 hour positions (duh) but the whole thing has to move five steps ahead to tell the time past 1 o’clock.

You know, it’s funny. All this has us thinking about how digital displays threaten to render the phrase “o’clock” obsolete unless we manage to keep using timepieces with hands and faces. Like this one…

<<via Heise.de>>

This is the ultimate timepiece for anyone who spends far too much time under the hood for their own good. It has moving gears and runs on two C batteries. The product description only says “automotive racing inspired”, but won’t specify whether that’s some kind of chewing-tobacco NASCAR thing, or a more stylish Fast And The Furious Tokyo Drift sort of vibe. We’re hoping for the latter. Nitrous oxide not included.

Buy for $39.99

The Esby Studio Sarah clock moves far away from the typical wall clock. In fact, it leaves the wall altogether. . .

The Esby Sarah comes in a variety of colors, including green, white, and “natural”. Great concept, especially if you have a big pile of plants (or even a small tree!) in a section of the room that’s just missing something. Put this among the greenery and see it all tie together.

Buy for $499.00

Ever find the coolest gadget ever, only to have your girlfriend/fiancee/best friend/whoever say to you, “Do you really need that?” In this case, the answer is a definite hell yeah. When Bruce Willis comes crashing through the plate-glass window with a pair of wire cutters in one hand, and the address of a gigantic bomb in the other, and he’s got to get to that address before 6:15, you know he’s gonna want to know what time it is. When that finally happens to you, you can whip out this handy keychain-sized laser clock, aim it at the wall, and show Bruce how much time he’s got left before everything goes kerblooie.

Buy for $29.99.

Now this is some serious retro timekeeping. This Fred-O-Vision alarm clock looks like one of those old 70s style portable TVs, and the display looks resembles one of the old-time test patterns from back in the day when TV stations actually signed off for the night and let you go to bed. That’s right, gang, once upon a time there was no 24 hour cable, back in the day when TVs were made out of wood. This alarm clock constantly shifts color just like one of those unreliable old console televisions, and it plays goofy old game-show theme music as your wake-up call. Imagine waking up to the theme from The Dating Game! Or maybe you’re a Hollywood Squares guy. If retro makes you gag, you can give the retro Fred-O-Vision alarm clock as a gift to one of your office chummies. Call this another Gearcrave no-brainer quick pick gift idea.

Buy for $24.99