My Clocks, one that could and one that should

Anybody with children will appreciate the problems of getting them up in the morning and getting them ready for school. I have 2 and getting them to school is an event in itself. More so when they conspire to be late for school. In trying to overcome the problem, we decided to have a clock in the bathroom. There lies the problem. What clock to get? The choice: one that is robust and perhaps offers some form of water resistance or a cheap throw-away model. We went with the cheap way.

Where would we get one? The problem was solved when we visited that huge Swedish furniture place. There we found a cheap clock that we figure could do the job. It was cheap and even if it lasted 6 months, it has already paid for itself. So we got 2, a larger one for the family room and a smaller one for the bathroom. That was 18 months ago. The clock? Still ticking away.

Now you may ask where did we place the clock? Surely it must be far from the sink or the shower. Nope, for the past 18 months, it has been sitting pretty by the sink, getting splashed when the kids brush their teeth, wash their hands etc. It is also next to the shower, and sometimes the bathroom does fog up.

The model number for the clock is I believe SKARP 16589 and it is available from that Swedish giant. The clock measures 115 mm in diameter and is 44 mm thick. The body is covered by a stainless steel sheet. The clock is made in China and offers the following functions: hours, minutes, seconds and daily alarm. It has a built in LED that provides some illumination (LED at 12 o'clock). The dial is white and the hours are marked by lines. The minutes are marked as well (shorter lines). The hour and minute hands are rendered in black while the second hand is silver. The alarm hand is shorter and thinner as compared to the hour hand.

The crystal is plastic (ABS?) as is the case back (ABS). The clock, which is round has 2 legs that holds the clock in place. There are some (minimal) grips on the 2 feet as provided by a rubber gasket on each foot.

The clock is powered by a single AA battery and can be accessed from the case back. On the case back we find the light button, alarm adjustment and time adjustment 'crowns'. They are easy to use. There is also an alarm On/ Off switch. We also find the vent for the alarm speaker.

As you can see from the photographs, there are watermark all over the clock. The water that you see on the clock was not to simulate what the clock goes through but it is actual. You can also see calcification on the clock crystal.

In conclusion, I am impressed with the clock. That is why I call it the one that could. Now we look at the other clock that I got for the other bathroom. This is one that should. It has been on 'duty' for about 2 months.

I got this clock real cheap. The brand is Pearl and it is made in China. The model number is RC-101. The clock is a small alarm clock. It is square and measures 65 mm by 65 mm. It is 32 mm thick. It is made of transparent plastic. You can see the quartz module. There was a reason why I bought this clock. I like the module as instead of having the second hand ticking, the second hand glides like mechanical or electrical powered clocks. I find that very cool (need to get out more).

The dial is green as is the Arabic hour markers. How ever the markers are not luminous. Only the hands are, and the luminous parts are very small. The hour and minute hands are white while the second hand is silver. The alarm hand is an grey. There is a light, via a bulb at the 2 o'clock position. The bulb actually sticks out from the dial.

The case back is grey and the alarm, time and alarm On/ Off switch is rendered in white. The light button is a small rectangular piece of plastic. The is a hole for the alarm speaker at the top left hand corner. I have to say that the position of the alarm On/ Off switch on the left of the case back is not as per the norm (12 o'clock). The clock is powered by a single AA battery.

This is the clock that should survive its time in the bathroom as its more robust as compared to the other clock. I like this clock as it is small and I like the movement. I do enjoy watching the second hand glide across the dial. So far it has been doing its job well and I hope it will last as long as the other clock.