Nork Minimalist Wall Clock

Nork strips a wall clock back to a wooden ring, a plain face and two hands. There are no numerals at all, only small markers at the quarter hours, which sounds like it would make the clock harder to read and in practice does not. The eye reads hand position long before it reads numbers, and removing them leaves a piece that looks calm on a busy wall.

The frame is a shallow wooden ring in a soft matte colour, sitting proud of the face by a few millimetres so the clock catches a thin line of shadow around its edge. That small depth is what stops it looking flat and printed. The quartz movement runs with a silent sweep, so it can go into a bedroom or a nursery without adding a tick to the room.

Five colours cover both quiet and deliberate placements. Grey and white recede against pale walls. Blue, green and orange each work as a single point of colour in an otherwise neutral scheme, which is generally a better use of a clock than trying to match it to everything else. It hangs from a rear keyhole and takes one standard battery. Avoid hanging it directly above a stove or kettle, since sustained steam will eventually lift the finish on any wooden frame regardless of how well it is sealed.

• Wooden ring frame with matte finish
• No numerals, quarter-hour markers only
• Silent sweep quartz movement
• Colours: grey, white, blue, green and orange
• Single AA battery, not included
• Rear keyhole mount