L’Epée 1839’s New Time Tales is the Post-Modern Cuckoo Clock You Never Knew You Needed… Until Now!
Embodying the Maison’s spirit of unexpected timekeeping objects with a touch of whimsy and artful re-evaluation, you will likely go cuckoo for the new L’Epée 1839 Time Tales clock. We did.
By Mike Espindle
Executive Editor
The artists at the L’Epée 1839 never seem to run out of fanciful ideas for large-scale horological objets d’art. And the Swiss Jura-based company always seems to release them just when things in the watch world are getting a bit, well, boring.
Earlier this year, the brand released the next-gen, transparent Watch Box. Two “steampunk” inspired time-keepers arrived the year before: The Zeppelin-shaped Albatross done with watchmaker MB&F and the classical telescopic Time Machine produced with global retailer Bucherer.
However, any unexpected sources have received the L’Epée treatment either through independently produced offerings or collaborations. That is why this latest creation from the brand, the Time Tales, is so fascinating.
Hiding In Plain Sight
The inspiration for the Time Tales is so natural to timekeeping yet so untouched by modern concepts that it is both unexpected AND expected.
A traditional wooden Swiss cuckoo clock might be nostalgically charming in an Alpine lodge or the perfect wall décor for a cottagecore aesthetic. Still, I don’t think kitschy time-telling design inspirations have received as thorough an artistic modern redux as the Time Tales.
A complex movement with 1,241 components retains the classic functions of this beloved clock genre: the “bird” pops out on the hour and half-hour, a music box plays a melody, and automatons do a crazy little dance. Just like when you were a kid. Expected, right?
Technically Whimsical
But the rest of the Time Tales paints the unexpected part of the formula: The movement (really more of a mechanical computer) supports playing each of the features on demand, muting individual functions, even pre-setting a silent mode for when you’re just not in the mood. A full-wind runs the system for eight days.
And the design, well, that’s the fun part. While at first glance, Time Tales presents a sleek, metallic, dark, monochromatic, geometric form with some colorful details, the modernism has a decidedly Memphis Group-esque element of playfulness.
This rings especially true when you realize the Time Tales' body, with its triangular top (the birdhouse), striped body, flame-shaped hanging pulleys, and even “match stick” hands, more closely resembles a rocket of the Wile E. Coyote variety than a traditional cuckoo clock.
A Bit of Eastern Insight
To add to the list of inspirations for this cuckoo clock redux, designers Jason Sarkoyan and Martin Bolo have thrown in some Eastern philosophical wisdom of the “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil, do no evil” stripe when the automatons express the classic axioms of the phrase.
There will be three versions made (monkeys, birds, and dogs). Each figurine option is limited to 99 versions. For more information, including pricing, visit the L’Epée 1839 website.