Aesthetic Clock Novels & Stories

Now, she’s ready for an early morning walk. She went down to the kitchen and briefly checked the time on the wall clock. It’s a vintage wooden clock embossed with Latin numerals entangled in vine leaves and flowers representing each month. Its hands were a spoon, fork, and a knife representing the hour, minute, and seconds respectively while the plate of the clock was designed like a wooden summer hat woven by the rim. It showed past four in the morning.

“This is an Empire mantle clock by famed 18th-century clockmaker Julien-Antoine Béliard. He worked with so many artisans of his time! Truly an exemplar of the art! “Just look at it. Built around 1810, gilded bronze. People just don’t make clocks like this anymore, do they? Ah, to frame a clock with artistry…like this! A gilded figurine of a goddess, a sheep, and—see, a sweet little cherub! It’s a kind of angel; the famous one called Cupid. This little cherub even shoots an arrow!” He fawned. “The dial is enamelled with Roman numerals, and there is a trace of wear right here, I’ll give you that. Time can do that to even a marvelous tour de force…Just look at us, ha ha!

Confused, I opened the envelope to find a few documents that contained something about an antique clock that had been appraised two years ago by Sean Gallagher, my dead grandda. The clock was made of porcelain and covered in ormolu. At the top was a painting of a cherub with a laurel wreath adorning the miniature; below was another cherub, an acorn adorning it at the bottom. A sky was painted in the center of the clock face. Most tellingly, the appraisal price of this clock was listed at a staggering €25,000. My eyes nearly bugged out of my head seeing that. “Okay, somebody has a freaking expensive clock somewhere. What does this have to do with my da?”

The roar of the party was just a dull thrum in the distance. He walked slowly, admiring the artifacts. Ancient coins, ceremonial daggers, navigational sextants. He stopped in front of a display case housing a complex clockwork mechanism made of brass and gears. It was an Astrolabe from the Second Era. A beautiful piece of engineering, but Julian frowned. "It’s mounted wrong," he whispered to himself. "I beg your pardon?" Julian spun around. Standing ten feet away, watching him with an intensity that made his breath catch, was the woman in the silver-grey gown.

Her studio was in the back, past the display cases and the workbench, through a door that led to a room filled with light and tools and the quiet hum of something being made. She asked him questions. Not about budget first. About the person. "What does he like? How does he move through the world? What's his relationship to objects? Does he wear his watch on his left or right wrist?" Alexander answered all of them. Elijah had described his aesthetic precisely enough over two years of ordinary conversation that Alexander had an exact model: the watch on the left wrist, his father's, scratched and cheap and irreplaceable. The single quiet line drawn at the stylist's attempt to remove it. The th

"Time is the only debt that cannot be repaid in gold. But in the Aeolian Isles, we have conquered time through Harmonic Stasis. Panni, Jinyan—bring the Key. The midnight hour approaches." They were led through the marble streets of the colony. It was a masterpiece of 18th-century luxury and psychological horror. Every building was shaped like a component of a watch; the streets were paved in obsidian and copper. As they passed, the Chorus turned in unison, their movements dictated by a central, subsonic hum that Panni could feel deep in her marrow. Inside the Clockwork Mansion, the air was pressurized and heavy. They were brought to a central chamber where a massive pendulum swung from a hei

With the black waziri on his tail, he and Leesa would not be staying still for even a few minutes. She strolled toward the spherical clock, in no hurry. Even from this distance, she could see the hands of the clock telling her it was still ten minutes before noon. The crowd grew thicker as she neared the circular marble and brass information counter. A few people were actually seeking information from the half dozen workers behind the counter, but most were simply studying the beautiful, unusual clock. Many were taking pictures or videos of the famous landmark with cameras or smart phones. Leesa had read that the four faces of the clock were each fashioned of polished opal, and that it was v

"The door makes loud noise each time I opened it, I didn't want to disturb anyone." Jason looked at the perfectly normal door, then at me, The silence became painful, fnally he shrugged and walked away. I released the breath I didn't even know I had been holding and escaped to my office. Thankfully, Damon didn't appear all day. By afternoon, I ended up in Charles's office discussing ideas for the next round of the competition. Everything was going normally, until my eyes landed on the object sitting on his desk. I stopped speaking…because good Lord. The object was ridiculous beautiful. It looked like a handcrafted mechanical clock made from gold and platinum, tiny diamonds lined the edges, t

“Perhaps we could pick something simple but elegant.” Lily’s attention was drawn to a small, handcrafted clock displayed nearby. Its wooden frame was intricately carved, and the delicate hands ticked quietly against a cream-colored face. She ran her fingers lightly over the smooth surface. “What about this?” she asked, holding it up for Mrs. Thompson to see. “It’s simple but timeless.” Mrs. Thompson leaned closer, inspecting the clock. “Oh, that’s lovely,” she said. “They’ll appreciate something so unique. What do you think, Marcus?”

“Show me.” The dashes on the aeon clock in front of them shimmered as the two clocks, one here and one over there, connected and the faded markings in front of them began to glow with the reflected gold filigree of the other. This was both magic and mechanics. Two scenes rose up in miniature from the face of the aeon clock, flickering at first but gradually gaining substance. The first scene was in her father’s study, the second was in the still whole House of Madame Skia. One scene froze while the other portrayed the actions of its actors.