Making of an Hourglass

April 25, 2011 7:41 AM

The making of an hourglass. [SLVimeo]
posted by odinsdream (19 comments total)

Lovely--reminds me of the Ecosphere.
posted by MrMoonPie at 7:55 AM on April 25, 2011

That was gorgeous.

By the way, if anyone is every in upstate NY, the Corning Museum of Glass is one of the coolest places I've ever been.
posted by you're a kitty! at 7:59 AM on April 25, 2011 [3 favorites]

I saw this yesterday, went looking to see how much they're selling them for: about $13,000 (warning, that link starts playing music for some reason).

Found it on this awesome blog: Product By Process
posted by splatta at 8:00 AM on April 25, 2011

I love the bead of sweat as he is turning the initial shape. It's the only indication there is any effort expended in the entire process.
posted by skippyhacker at 8:03 AM on April 25, 2011

It never occurred to me the aperture would be hand-formed. How do you calibrate the timing of the hourglass; with less or more sand nanoballs?

The video itself is pretty but I lament the use of quick cuts; long shots would be much more welcome for something as contemplative as making an hourglass by hand.
posted by Nelson at 8:19 AM on April 25, 2011

I love watching people work with glass, I have to keep reminding myself that it is glass they are handling.
posted by ridiculous at 8:20 AM on April 25, 2011

That's just gorgeous. Love that it's in borosilicate. It could go in the oven with the pizza..

(And if they'd just added color, it'd be like a fully functional Venini Clessidre!)
posted by Ahab at 8:29 AM on April 25, 2011

It could go in the oven with the pizza..

If it's really sealed, I would not advise that.
posted by you're a kitty! at 8:45 AM on April 25, 2011 [1 favorite]

Very nice. I'd love to have one of those around the house, although the $13K price tag is a bit out of my range.
posted by immlass at 8:45 AM on April 25, 2011

... although the $13K price tag is a bit out of my range.

Mine too. But I'll pay it. I can't wait forever to get those shoes!
posted by hal9k at 9:03 AM on April 25, 2011

I saw this yesterday, went looking to see how much they're selling them for

My first impulse too. Don't the Chinese do a cheaper one?
posted by PeterMcDermott at 9:31 AM on April 25, 2011

You can get an hourglass about half that size that runs ~30 minutes for under $20 at Target.

Also, they obviously aren't sealed...the sand goes in at the end.
posted by DU at 9:44 AM on April 25, 2011

I forsee a series of these films with appropriate music: David Bowie for hunting knives, Phil Ochs for furniture, Led Zeppelin for blimps, etc.
posted by rikschell at 10:03 AM on April 25, 2011

I was watching this set of films on how baseball bats are made, linked to from Product by Process.

Let me just say that when I saw presses activated with just a single button instead of two that require both hands, my testicles receded just a bit. Yikes.
posted by plinth at 11:50 AM on April 25, 2011 [1 favorite]

wow. Hourglass porn.
posted by bonobothegreat at 1:41 PM on April 25, 2011

Beautiful. Gotta wonder though, if those nifty steel nanoballs will scratch the glass over a long period of use. Or do people break their 13,000-dollar hourglasses often enough to make this irrelevant? Probably.
posted by gorgor_balabala at 2:10 PM on April 25, 2011

Two-hundred years from now, will there be a master craftsman making excel porn or an IT historian writing an app for his antique iPad? I doubt it.
posted by Nanukthedog at 4:30 PM on April 25, 2011

> I forsee a series of these films with appropriate music: David Bowie for hunting knives, Phil Ochs for furniture, Led Zeppelin for blimps, etc.

Gene Simmons for mattresses...
posted by davelog at 4:45 PM on April 25, 2011

Is this where I insert the Days of our Lives reference?
posted by litnerd at 10:54 AM on April 26, 2011