Charlie Bell Alarm Clock / Newgate
The Charlie Bell, part of British design house Newgate's Echo range, takes the most recognisable shape an alarm clock can have, twin bells over a round face, and rebuilds it in modern materials and finishes. A small hammer swings between two metal bells to ring, loud enough for heavy sleepers, but the timekeeping runs on a quartz silent-sweep movement, so the hands glide without the tick the classic form usually brings. The painted metal case measures 13.5 x 10 x 5.5cm, behind a glass lens with metal hands over a contemporary graphic dial, and it comes in a wide range of matt colours with coordinating Echo wall and mantel clocks. It runs on a single AA battery. The proposition is simple: a familiar archetype, executed cleanly and quietly.
Design intent
- +It keeps the physical bell-and-hammer alarm, the part people recognise and trust, while dropping the winding and the ticking through a battery quartz silent-sweep movement.
- +A contemporary graphic dial and a broad palette of matt colours update the twin-bell archetype without touching its fundamental form.
Trade-offs
- -The bell alarm has no volume control and no graduated wake; it suits decisive risers more than gradual ones.
- -With the alarm off it is purely decorative, offering no secondary function beyond telling the time.
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The Charlie Bell, part of British design house Newgate's Echo range, takes the most recognisable shape an alarm clock can have, twin bells over a round face, and rebuilds it in modern materials and finishes. A small hammer swings between two metal bells to ring, loud enough for heavy sleepers, but the timekeeping runs on a quartz silent-sweep movement, so the hands glide without the tick the classic form usually brings. The painted metal case measures 13.5 x 10 x 5.5cm, behind a glass lens with metal hands over a contemporary graphic dial, and it comes in a wide range of matt colours with coordinating Echo wall and mantel clocks. It runs on a single AA battery. The proposition is simple: a familiar archetype, executed cleanly and quietly.
Design intent
- +It keeps the physical bell-and-hammer alarm, the part people recognise and trust, while dropping the winding and the ticking through a battery quartz silent-sweep movement.
- +A contemporary graphic dial and a broad palette of matt colours update the twin-bell archetype without touching its fundamental form.
Trade-offs
- -The bell alarm has no volume control and no graduated wake; it suits decisive risers more than gradual ones.
- -With the alarm off it is purely decorative, offering no secondary function beyond telling the time.
