Wall Clock Size Guide: What Do I Need?

It may be something you haven’t thought about before but, when buying a clock, how do you make sure you get the right size? If you’re here, you’ve asked yourself this question and you’re looking for the answer. Fortunately for you, we have several.

Below we have several tips on how to properly size your clocks for the walls in your home, along with other best practices to maintain a good spatial balance and style. If you haven’t got a trendy wall clock yet, you should try out Rolex clocks.

Clock Size

Clocks come in many different sizes and styles depending on the manufacturer and their purpose. Most of them fall somewhere in between six to eighteen inches, which is fifteen to forty-five centimeters. This is within legibility, where most well-sighted people can still read the clock even if it’s from against the room.

That said, there are smaller and larger clocks. Clocks can get very big, in fact, more than thirty inches when the entire face is considered. Since wall clocks mix style and function together, there are wall clocks out there that take up most of their wall, though these are often older styles that are considered outlandish or distracting nowadays by many.

Smaller and mid-sized clocks are best for emptier walls, where the clock itself will get more attention and can be considered a statement piece or part of existing wall decorations. Larger clocks, however, often go best with a decorated wall as long unless it’s bold enough to carry attention by itself without being too loud or garish.

Function

To decide on a size, you should consider the purpose of the clock. Is it to show the time to yourself and others, and track it accurately? Or is it a statement piece of decoration? Larger clocks are best for practical purposes while smaller clocks are better as decoration because it’s difficult to have a large decorative clock without it being garish (though there are always exceptions!)

This is where you may get into different clock types if you haven’t already got one in mind. For practical use, an atomic wall clock is best since they are most accurate and can straddle time zone changes. Meanwhile, mechanical wall clocks need to be wound and are less accurate, though come in many vintage décor styles. Then there are quartz wall clocks that are more accurate again but use batteries, making them low maintenance.

Clock Face

The size of the wall clock face is a big part of its size and how well it mixes with the surrounding environment. Larger clocks that are decorative often have larger frames and smaller faces, or the faces are integrated as part of the frame for a vintage, full-bodied design. Larger faces can also be more intricate because there’s more space to work with. Intricate designs go better with bare walls where they can be better appreciated.

Likewise, the symbols on the clock face matter too. If you want something you can read, you’ll want bold and black numbering that stands out no matter where you’re standing. If you want decoration, you can get looser or minimalist with the style. You’ve no doubt seen clocks before that don’t have numbering, where they fit in with minimalist décor while also being useful.

Clock Materials

Lastly, while we’re considering style, you should make sure that the wall clock is made from compatible materials. Most clocks sold nowadays are either made with plastic, wood, metal, or some combination of them all.

A metal clock, which is considered a modern and minimalist look by most, will fare better on an open wall. That may change how large you want the clock to be. They can also be polished, to look great when the sunlight hits them. Wood is similar to metal, except for rustic and homely styles instead.

Plastic is easy to color, helping it fit in. It’s budget-friendly but this can verge on being/looking cheap, and fragile, which again dictates where the clock goes and how large you’ll want to risk.

Conclusion

Those are just some of the things you need to keep in mind when sizing and buying a wall clock. As you can see, there’s a lot more to consider than the size of the clock and if it fits on your wall. It also needs to look good once you’ve mounted it there so that you enjoy the clock and get your money’s worth out of it.