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Artist Niklas Roy describes the Glashütte Trash Clock, a working pendulum clock made from discarded and found materials in Glashütte, Saxony. The mechanism runs for about 30 minutes, shows seconds and minutes, strikes a gong at the top of each minute and triggers an external randomizer near the end of its run. The source does not provide independent testing or detailed information about the residency’s public display or the clock’s accuracy.
Artist Niklas Roy says he built a working pendulum clock from trash and other materials found in Glashütte, Saxony, during a 2026 residency. The mechanism runs for about 30 minutes, displaying seconds and minutes and striking a gong each time the minute hand reaches 12.
Roy’s project report calls the device the Glashütte Trash Clock. He says it also triggers an external randomizer just before the clock runs out of stored energy. The report describes the clock as a functioning mechanical mechanism, but does not give independent test results, measured accuracy or a detailed account of how often it has been operated.
The clock’s construction draws on the principles of a pendulum and escapement. Roy describes using a roughly one-metre pendulum, with a plastic water bottle serving as its bob and a folding wooden ruler as its adjustable rod. The escapement, which meters the mechanism’s movement and gives the pendulum small pushes, was assembled from found materials; Roy says paperclips formed the wheel’s teeth and a bent metal rod served as the anchor.
Roy says the work was made during an artist residency in Glashütte, after watchmaker NOMOS invited him there in 2026. He also says he devised a time scale called GTC, blending the concepts of GMT and UTC and naming the clock its global reference. The report presents this as part of the project; it does not explain how the scale is defined or used beyond that description.
A Working Clock From Found Materials
The project places a piece of mechanical clockmaking in an unexpected setting: a mechanism assembled from discarded or locally found objects rather than purpose-made clock components. Roy’s account describes both the practical challenge and the engineering idea behind it: an escapement must release a wheel in controlled steps while supplying enough energy to keep a pendulum moving.
Its 30-minute running time limits what the clock can do compared with a conventional timepiece, but it is a defining feature of this build. It displays only seconds and minutes, rather than hours, and the gong and randomizer make its short power reserve part of the device’s operation. The report does not establish how the clock compares with commercial watches for precision or durability.
The location adds a specific connection to horology. Glashütte is known for watchmaking, and Roy links his residency to a family history of Swiss watchmakers who later settled in Saxony. The project therefore brings together local watchmaking associations, a personal account of that heritage and an experiment in building a mechanical instrument from improvised materials.
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Why Glashütte Fits the Project
Glashütte has a long-standing reputation among watch enthusiasts for mechanical watch production. Roy notes that the designation “Glashütte/SA” is protected and may be used on dials only for clocks and watches made in the town. His report does not claim that the Trash Clock bears that designation; it describes where he made the project and the town’s watchmaking significance.
Roy says two of his ancestors, Henri Roy and Eduard Roy, were Swiss watchmakers who lived in La Chaux-de-Fonds before emigrating to Herrnhut in Saxony. He frames the Glashütte residency as a chance to follow that family history by attempting to build a clock. The account describes his research in a vintage watchmaking textbook and his experiments with a pendulum and escapement.
The project report introduces the clock’s mechanical design but the supplied account does not include its full description of the energy-storage system or all construction steps. It supports the broad claim that the mechanism runs and identifies several materials and parts; it is not a complete technical specification.
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Accuracy and Display Status
The report does not state how accurately the clock keeps time, whether the 30-minute run has been independently measured, or how consistently the improvised escapement operates. It also does not specify which objects qualify as trash, how much of the mechanism uses found material, or the full design of the energy supply.
It remains unclear whether the clock is currently on public display, whether visitors can see it running, or whether Roy plans further versions. The source also gives no technical definition for GTC beyond saying that it blends GMT and UTC and that the clock serves as its reference.
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Further Details on the Build
Roy’s project report is the available account of the clock and its construction. It does not announce a future exhibition, performance or release, so no next public milestone can be confirmed from the source material. Further updates from Roy or the residency organizer could clarify the clock’s current location and whether it will be demonstrated again.
A fuller technical account would also help explain the mechanism’s power source, timing accuracy and operating limits, along with how the randomizer is connected and how Roy defines GTC. Until such details are available, the confirmed account is that Roy reports building a short-running, functioning pendulum clock from found materials during a Glashütte residency.
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Key Questions
What is the Glashütte Trash Clock?
It is a pendulum clockwork mechanism that artist Niklas Roy says he made from trash and other found materials in Glashütte, Saxony, during a 2026 artist residency.
How long does the clock run?
Roy says it runs for about half an hour before its stored energy runs out. The report does not provide an independent measurement of the run time.
What does the clock display?
It displays seconds and minutes. According to Roy, it strikes a gong when the minute hand reaches 12 and triggers an external randomizer shortly before it stops.
What materials are used in its mechanism?
Roy describes using found materials including paperclips for escapement-wheel teeth and a bent metal rod for the anchor. He also describes a plastic water bottle as a pendulum bob and a folding wooden ruler as the rod.
Is the clock currently on public display?
The project report does not say whether the clock is currently exhibited or available to view. It also does not announce a future display date.
Source: hn
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