Apple watch designer Marc Newsom has switched gears to create a new luxury gadget to measure time. Partnering with HODINKEE, Newsom has created the limited-edition handcrafted Marc Newsom Hourglass. Custom made in a glass factory, each hourglass is produced with hand-blown borosilicate glass, which is stronger than crystal but retains its translucent quality.
At its height, the hourglass measures 150 mm tall and 125 mm wide—about the size of a cocktail glass in your hand—and weighs a little over three pounds. The shiny pink particles inside that run through the hourglass are stainless steel Nanoballs, measuring 0.6 mm in diameter and covered in copper and then an additional anti-corrosion layer.
“They move together almost like a liquid,” the luxury wristwatch magazine explained on its website. In lieu of sand, approximately 1,25 million balls filter through the hourglass in the span of 10 minutes. And to prevent scratching and other nicks against the inside of the glass, the Nanoballs have been created without seams.
“On one hand you’re witnessing time,” Newsom said. “But on the other hand it’s completely sort of timeless. It has this strange mesmeric quality.”
Only 100 hourglasses will be made. So far, at $12,000 each, six have been created and sold. But since each hourglass is custom made, to get one you’ll have to put down a nonrefundable $6,000 deposit.
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