Glashütte Trash Clock: A Functional Timepiece Made from Scrap

The Glashütte Trash Clock is a fully operational mechanical timepiece crafted from discarded materials found in Glashütte, Saxony. Designed by Niklas Roy, the clock features a pendulum that runs for about 30 minutes, displaying seconds and minutes and striking a gong every minute. The project also introduced a new time scale, GTC, blending GMT and UTC, with the Trash Clock as its reference. Roy, inspired by his watchmaking ancestors, built the clock during an artist residency in Glashütte, using scavenged materials like plastic bottles, paperclips, and cardboard. The clock’s design includes a pendulum, escapement, energy storage system, and a reduction drive for minute display, with a gong mechanism adding auditory cues.