Best Wall Clocks

You’d want every room in your house to have some sort of timepiece. Nowadays, you have a wide selection of wall clocks, that not only are functionally accurate, but can also add to the character of your home. There are wall clocks that are ideal for the kitchen, while others would be more fitting for the living room. (For the bedroom, you might prefer an alarm clock or better yet, a projection alarm clock, that shows the time on the ceiling of your bedroom.) You’ll find that there are analog clocks, which display the time with clock hands, and digital clocks, which display the hours and minutes numerically.

We've put together this guide to help you select the best wall clock that answer to your needs. It'll help you:

• Choose the right type of wall clock,

• See useful tips about that type of wall clock,    

• Read reviews of different brands of wall clock, and what customers are saying,

• Select the right brand of wall clock, and

• Compare prices and find the best deals.

• Analog: These have the traditional clock face, with an hour hand, minute hand, and in some clocks, a second hand. You set the time manually. The clock itself can either be powered with wall current, or with a battery.

• Digital: These are clocks which display the time in hours and minutes, in  traditional (Arabic) numerals. This can either be in 12-hour format, with a separate indicator whether it is AM or PM, or in 24-hour format, with 00:00 being 12-midnight. These can use either an LED or LCD display.

• Atomic: These are clocks that use an electronic frequency to synchronize with the U.S. Atomic clock (which measures time according to the frequency of oscillations of electrons in the cesium atom). This is the most accurate type of clock. Atomic wall clocks can be made to reset to correct for different time zone as well. The La Crosse Technology WT-3122A is such an atomic clock.

Based on all the consumers' reviews we've scanned, these are the top things they mentioned about their new stuff:

• Stylish: Even though a pendulum with a steady period was one of the first timekeeping devices, nowadays it is employed purely for cosmetic purposes.The Seiko Wall Pendulum Clock has a pendulum mechanism. The same battery that rotates the clock hands makes the pendulum swing back and forth. GSM makes a large metal contemporary wall clock which employs a different color for each of the numerals.  

• Clock cover: Some customers were pleased that the wall clock that they purchased was covered with a clear plastic, instead of a glass, cover. There is always a risk of the glass cover breaking should the clock fall off the wall--plastic is more foolproof.

• Contrast between clock face and clock hands: You want to make sure that there is sufficient contrast between the clock face and the hands on the clock. If the hands are dark as well as the clock face, you can apply white paint or white nail polish to the clock hands, for greater visibility.

• Adequate size: Make sure  that the clock’s face is wide enough to be visible from all parts of the room. LaCrosse makes a clock with a wooden frame that is 12.5 inches in diameter, so as to be visible all over the room.

• Non-ticking: If you buy an analog wall clock, you may want to check that the clock doesn’t tick when counting the seconds. (On the other hand, that might only be an issue in the bedroom, where it can disturb your sleep.) You can get an analog clock that has a second hand with a continuous sweep, so that it makes no noise.

• Auto-Night Light: The Marathon CL030052GG is a wall clock that has an ambient light sensor. It will indicate when to turn on the internal light in the clock face, when there is reduced lighting in the room.

• Date and day function: There are digital wall clocks that can be set to display the day of the week and the calendar day of the year, besides displaying the time.

• Other functions: You can get a wall clock that also tells you the humidity and temperature in the room. The HITO 10” Silent Non-ticking Wall Clock with a metal frame glass cover has a temperature and humidity dial as well.

LaCrosse Technology-- was founded in 1985 in La Crescent, Minnesota, but they are presently located in La Crosse, Wisconsin. They introduced the atomic clock into the commercial market, and now make a wide variety of clocks, sensors, alarms, radios and more.  

Marathon Watch—was founded in Montreal, Canada, in 1904 as Weinstrum Watch, but was changed to “Wein Brothers” in 1939 by Morris Wein. They originally made timepieces for the armed forces, but now make all types of watches, clocks, timers, and stopwatches. They also make binoculars and measuring devices. They presently have their headquarters in Richmond Hill, Ontario.

Hito—are makers of a wide variety of timepieces: bedside alarm clocks, wall clocks, timers, weather alarm clocks, as well as other home appliances.

Westclox--is a brand of clocks, that was originally located in Peru, Illinois, and founded in 1884 by Charles Stahlberg. They sell wall clocks, alarm clocks, travel clocks, pocket watches, and more.