Show HN: Glashütte Trash Clock – A 30-Minute Pendulum Clock Made From Trash

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Niklas Roy’s Glashütte Trash Clock is a mechanical clockwork made from discarded and found materials in Glashütte, Saxony. Roy says it runs for about 30 minutes, displays seconds and minutes, strikes a gong at each minute mark, and triggers an external randomizer near the end of its stored energy. The source does not provide independent testing or detailed performance measurements.

Artist and maker Niklas Roy has presented the Glashütte Trash Clock, a mechanical clockwork assembled from discarded and found materials in Glashütte, Saxony. Roy says it runs for about 30 minutes, shows seconds and minutes, and strikes a gong when its minute hand reaches 12, turning a short-lived build into a working demonstration of clock mechanisms.

In a project account on his website, Roy describes the clock as a functioning mechanism made from trash and other materials he found in Glashütte. Its limited running time means it does not display hours. Instead, the clock indicates seconds and minutes, with a gong sounding at the top of each minute. Roy also says it activates an external randomizer shortly before the mechanism runs out of energy; the account does not specify how that device works.

The mechanism relies on a pendulum and escapement. Roy explains that the escapement alternately releases a toothed wheel and gives the pendulum a small push, helping it keep swinging. For the wheel, he used paperclips as teeth and formed the anchor from a bent metal rod. The account presents these as practical material choices, not as a claim that the clock is a precision timekeeper.

Roy says the project also led him to invent a time scale called GTC, which he describes as blending GMT and UTC, with the clock acting as its global reference. The source does not give a full specification for the scale, explain how it relates to established time standards, or state that it has been adopted beyond the project.

A Clock Built From Local Discards

The project makes clock construction visible through materials that are usually overlooked. Its paperclip wheel, adjustable ruler pendulum rod and other salvaged components show how familiar mechanical principles can be adapted to what is available. That makes the clock relevant as a hands-on design experiment, rather than as a rival to commercial watches or a claim of high-precision timekeeping.

The setting gives the work an added connection to Glashütte’s watchmaking identity. Roy says he made the clock during an artist residency invitation from NOMOS, a mechanical watch manufacturer. The build places an improvised clock beside a town associated with finely made timepieces, while its short run time and found materials make the contrast part of the project’s premise.

Roy’s GTC label is another point of interest, but its stated role should be kept in proportion: it is a time scale proposed as part of this artwork. Without a published definition or evidence of external use, it should not be confused with an established civil or scientific time standard.

From Watchmaking Family to Residency

Roy links the project to a family history of watchmaking. He says his great-great-grandfather Henri Roy and great-grandfather Eduard Roy were Swiss watchmakers who later moved to Herrnhut, in Saxony. In 2026, Roy says, NOMOS invited him to an artist residency in Glashütte, giving him a reason to try making a clock there.

His account describes a process of learning and testing, beginning with a simple pendulum made from a plastic water bottle and an adjustable wooden folding ruler. He used a vintage watchmaking textbook to study pendulums and escapements, then adapted those ideas to available materials. A pendulum’s period depends on its length and local gravity, while an escapement meters the movement and supplies small impulses to keep the pendulum swinging. This background explains the clock’s basic operation without establishing how accurately it keeps time.

“Since the mechanism runs for only about half an hour, it displays only seconds and minutes.”

— Niklas Roy, on the Glashütte Trash Clock project page

Accuracy and GTC Remain Undefined

The project account does not report measured timekeeping accuracy, test conditions, or how much the clock’s rate varies during its roughly 30-minute run. It also does not provide a complete inventory of the materials, a detailed build plan, or independent verification of the mechanism’s performance. Roy’s description supports calling it a working clockwork, but not assigning it a level of precision beyond what the source states.

The description of GTC is also limited. It does not define the scale’s units, explain its relationship to GMT or UTC in technical terms, or show that anyone outside the project uses it. The account says the clock triggers an external randomizer near the end of its energy supply, but leaves the randomizer’s design and purpose unspecified.

Further Build Details Could Clarify

The project page is the available record of the clock and Roy’s construction process. Further documentation—such as a full mechanism description, timing measurements, or a formal explanation of GTC—would clarify how the build performs and what the proposed time scale means in practice. The source does not announce a follow-up demonstration, commercial release, or plan to develop GTC as a broader standard.

For now, the confirmed development is the presentation of a short-running, found-material clock built during Roy’s Glashütte residency. Any assessment of its accuracy, durability, or wider use will depend on information beyond the project description.

Key Questions

Who made the Glashütte Trash Clock?

Niklas Roy describes making the clock in Glashütte, Saxony, in a project account on his website.

How long does the clock run?

Roy says the mechanism runs for about half an hour. The source does not give a measured run-time range or test conditions.

What does the clock display?

It displays seconds and minutes and strikes a gong when the minute hand reaches 12. Roy says it does not display hours because of its short operating time.

What does GTC mean?

Roy describes GTC as a time scale blending GMT and UTC, with the clock as its reference. The project account does not provide a technical definition or indicate wider adoption.

Is the clock a precision timekeeper?

The source calls it a functioning clockwork but does not report accuracy measurements. Its precision cannot be established from the published description alone.

Source: hn