Vintage Wooden Wall Clock | Roman Numeral Design In Three Different Natural Timber Face Sizes

Roman numerals do something to a clock face that ordinary digits cannot. They are taller than they are wide, so they read as vertical marks around the rim rather than as numbers, and the eye takes the time from hand position and rim geometry rather than by reading each figure. That is why a Roman face works at a distance where a crowded modern dial does not.

Setting them in black metal on a natural timber face is the contrast that carries it. Timber gives the warmth and the grain, and the black numerals give enough contrast to be legible from across an open plan room. Neither element is decorative for its own sake, which is why this shape has survived in kitchens and hallways for a century.

Buy it now in the size the wall can carry, since a clock that is too small on a large wall looks like an afterthought. Thirty five and a half centimetres suits a kitchen or a study, forty and a half is general purpose, and forty five and a half holds a large open plan wall. A silent quartz movement runs on a single AA battery, which is not included, and there is no wiring or installation to think about at all.

• Face: natural timber with bold black metal Roman numerals
• Sizes: 35.5 cm, 40.6 cm or 45.7 cm diameter
• Movement: silent quartz, no ticking
• Battery: 1 x AA, not included
• Fitting: wall mount, no wiring required
• Use: living rooms, bedrooms, kitchens, offices and cafes