A Word Clock for the Wrist Is the Best Birthday Present

If you’ve ever seen a word clock, you know how neat they are. There are lots of ways to display the time, but using plain English in an analog format is definitely one of the best. But, the word clocks we normally see are large wall-mounted affairs. This one is something special: it’s a word wristwatch!

If you’re not familiar with word clocks, the concept is simple: instead of displaying the time using hands or a digital readout (like “11:21”), they display the time using full words (like “eleven twenty one”). But, while the concept is simple, actually building one is a difficult task. A matrix of characters is required, sort of like a word search puzzle with every word combination needed to display every possible time.

Building a word clock is difficult for a couple of reasons: it means translating a series of numbers into words (and determining how and when to illuminate them), and also means fitting all of those electronics into a sleek case. The latter is particularly difficult when you consider how many individually-addressable LEDs are required to light up the proper words. That’s what makes Harnek Gulati’s wristwatch word clock so impressive.

What Gulati did was take a word clock, which is a difficult project on a large scale, and made it small enough to wear on your wrist. The project started as a birthday gift for his roommate, but that first model was too thick to be comfortable. Subsequent version dramatically reduced the thickness (14mm down to 7.7mm).

Gulati is taking advantage of the beauty of the project, and has started a (already funded) Kickstarter. The battery lasts for two years, and the gorgeous walnut wood case can be laser-engraved to work in three different languages. The post-early bird special is available until November, so you can still get yours!