Vintage AEG Industrial Wall Clock in Original Retro Green | Factory Clock with Natural Patina, Behrens Design Tradition
Vintage AEG Industrial Wall Clock in Original Retro Green | Factory Clock with Natural Patina, Behrens Design Tradition
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A vintage AEG industrial wall clock, still wearing its original retro green paint. Nothing has been repainted or polished away: the body and the dial carry a rich, natural patina and the honest marks of decades of use. The clock has been checked and deep cleaned, works on mains power and is covered by glass.
At a glance
| Manufacturer | AEG (Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft), Germany |
|---|---|
| Design lineage | Industrial design tradition of Peter Behrens for AEG |
| Type | FUWY, as marked on the type plate inside the clock |
| Period | Circa 1960s |
| Finish | Original retro green paint, never repainted |
| Dial | Cream dial with natural patina, black numerals and black hands, slim seconds hand |
| Condition | Strong natural patina and signs of use on both the body and the dial. Checked and deep cleaned |
| Cover | Glass |
| Power | Works on mains power |
| Diameter | 36 cm (14.2") |
| Depth | 8 cm (3.1") |
| Availability | One of one, once sold this exact piece will not return |
| Import duty | Payable by the buyer in their own country |
The story
AEG, the Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft, grew out of Emil Rathenau's Deutsche Edison-Gesellschaft, founded in Berlin in 1883 and renamed AEG in 1887. By the early twentieth century it was one of the largest electrical companies in Europe. In 1907 it took a step few industrial firms had taken: it hired the architect and designer Peter Behrens (1868-1940) as artistic adviser, and gave him responsibility for everything from its logo and catalogues to its factories and its products. His AEG turbine factory in Berlin, completed in 1909, is regarded as a landmark of modern industrial architecture, and his plain, geometric approach to everyday electrical objects, kettles, fans and clocks among them, helped lay the ground for the Bauhaus that followed.
The clocks that grew out of this tradition share a clear visual language: a round, simple steel case, large legible numerals and no ornament that does not serve a purpose. Clocks of this kind hung in factories, offices, workshops and stations, where the time had to be read at a glance from across a room. This example is a later AEG clock that we date to around the 1960s. It follows that Behrens-era design language, but we do not present it as a Behrens original.
What makes this clock stand out is its finish. The original retro green paint is still present on the body, and both the body and the dial have developed a deep, even patina that cannot be reproduced. We chose to keep it exactly that way. The clock has been checked and deep cleaned, so it is clean and runs as it should, but the surface has not been repainted, stripped or polished. It simply works on mains power, and it is covered by glass.
Suited to collectors of German industrial design and AEG and Behrens history, interior designers looking for a characterful wall piece with a genuine finish, and anyone furnishing a loft, studio, workshop, café or hallway who wants a factory clock that has kept its original surface.