TL;DR
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A project published by Niklas Roy describes a functioning pendulum clock assembled from discarded and found materials in Glashütte, Saxony. The clock runs for about 30 minutes, shows seconds and minutes, and strikes a gong at each minute change; the source also describes a randomizer trigger near the end of its run. Details in the supplied report about the final energy-storage design and the randomizer are incomplete.
Artist and clockmaker Niklas Roy has presented the Glashütte Trash Clock, a working pendulum mechanism built from trash and other materials found in Glashütte, Saxony. Roy’s project report says it runs for about 30 minutes, displays seconds and minutes, and sounds a gong when the minute hand reaches 12.
The clock is designed as a short-running mechanism, rather than a conventional timepiece intended to keep running continuously. Roy says it also triggers an external randomizer shortly before its stored energy runs out. The report does not give further details about what the randomizer does or how it is connected.
Roy describes building the clock during a 2026 artist residency in Glashütte, after receiving an invitation from watch manufacturer NOMOS. The materials and tools he lists include paperclips, a metal rod, a folding wooden ruler, adhesive tape, zip ties and hot glue. His account says paperclips served as gear teeth in the escapement wheel, while a bent metal rod formed the anchor.
The project report explains that the escapement alternately blocks and releases the wheel, while giving the pendulum a small push with each release. Roy says a 30-tooth escapement wheel paired with a seconds pendulum can rotate once per minute, providing a basis for a seconds indicator. The supplied text ends while describing the clock’s energy-storage mechanism, so it does not establish the full construction details or how the completed device performs beyond its stated runtime.
A Short Run for a Found-Material Clock
The project puts mechanical clockmaking concepts into a working object made from locally found materials. Its reported half-hour runtime sets it apart from clocks built for continuous everyday use, while its minute gong and seconds-and-minutes display make the mechanism’s operation visible and audible.
It also connects the work to Glashütte’s watchmaking identity. Roy says the residency offered a chance to make a clock in a town associated with precision timepieces, using an intentionally improvised approach. The report documents a creative project, not a test establishing the clock’s long-term accuracy, durability or suitability as a timekeeping standard.
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From Residency to Pendulum Mechanism
Roy’s report places the clock in a personal and local history of horology. He says his great-great-grandfather Henri Roy and great-grandfather Eduard Roy were Swiss watchmakers who later moved to Saxony. Glashütte is also known for mechanical watchmaking; Roy notes that the designation “Glashütte/SA” is protected and applies to clocks and watches made there.
For the mechanism, Roy recounts consulting a vintage German-language watchmaking textbook and experimenting with a pendulum in an old church used as his workspace. He describes using a water bottle as the pendulum bob and a folding ruler as an adjustable rod. The report references the familiar relationship between a pendulum’s period, its length and gravity, then moves on to the escapement needed to maintain motion and count swings.
Roy says he also coined GTC as a time scale combining ideas from GMT and UTC, with the Trash Clock as its reference clock. The supplied material does not explain how that scale is defined or used beyond this project.
Runtime, Accuracy and Missing Details
The source material does not provide independent testing of the clock’s stated runtime or accuracy. It also does not specify the exact materials used in every component, the final energy-storage arrangement, or how reliably the clock operates across repeated runs.
The report’s supplied text cuts off during its explanation of how the barrel drives the movement. The randomizer is mentioned but not described, and the definition of GTC is not given in enough detail to determine how its time scale differs operationally from GMT or UTC. No details are provided about a public demonstration, exhibition schedule or subsequent version of the mechanism.
Further Build Details to Watch
The next useful development would be publication of the complete build account, including the energy source, the randomizer’s function and the method used to measure the stated half-hour runtime. Demonstration footage or repeat-run results could clarify how the escapement performs and how consistently the clock keeps time.
For now, the available report presents the project as a completed mechanical artwork made during a 2026 residency. It does not announce a commercial product, a longer-running version or a formal rollout of the GTC time scale.
Key Questions
What is the Glashütte Trash Clock?
It is a working pendulum clock mechanism that Niklas Roy says he built from trash and other materials found in Glashütte, Saxony.
How long does the clock run?
Roy’s project report says it runs for about half an hour. The supplied material does not include independent runtime testing.
What does the clock display and do?
It displays seconds and minutes, strikes a gong when the minute hand reaches 12, and is described as triggering an external randomizer shortly before its energy runs out.
What materials were used?
Roy lists found materials and workshop supplies including paperclips, a metal rod, a folding ruler, tape, zip ties and hot glue. He says paperclips were used as teeth in the escapement wheel.
What is GTC?
Roy says he created GTC as a time scale blending concepts from GMT and UTC, with the Trash Clock serving as its reference. The available report does not provide a full definition or practical specification.
Source: hn
