This Japanese Wooden Clock Writes The Hour — And It’s Eerily Beautiful


With society continually advancing forward, it’s easy to forget how beautiful, meticulously crafted inventions such as the Plock can be. Created by a 22-year-old Japanese student by the name of Kango Suzuki, the Plock is an automaton clock that took an impressive six months to create from start to finish.

Plock holds 407 hand-carved wooden moving pieces altogether and physically writes the time. The numbers are inscribed on a small magnetic panel in the clock’s middle region. A collection of weights was strategically placed to aid in the movement of Plock’s wooden parts. These parts control four stylus pens that are magnetic like the center panel. This allows the machine to write the numbers as the time changes.

The Plock is an impressive design despite its impracticality. For those that favor art, the device is a must-see. This automaton clock definitely seems worth all of the time Suzuki invested as shown just recently in the unveiling at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum.

Japanese art students have always been known to create exceptional work through creative innovation and Tohoku University of Art and Design student Kango Suzuki should be properly recognized for his impressive creation. He’s now set a standard for future college students to follow and they probably will.