Signature work

Always

The first clock ever made in Mokume Gane. A map of Australia in five fused metals, twelve pink diamonds for the hours, and a pendulum that swings Parliament House from left to right, and right to left.

The idea

Lightning on the drive to work

By 2011 Eytan had worked in Mokume Gane for ten years, learning to fuse metals of different natures into one solid whole where each keeps its own character. Every morning, driving from home into the city, he passed Parliament House. One morning the connection arrived, in his words, like a flash of lightning: Australia, its Parliament, the people around him, and the Mokume Gane, all fused into one.

The clock that came out of it is the first ever made in Mokume Gane, four hundred years after the technique was born. Eytan made every part of it himself, and wrote a small book to go with it. It is dedicated to his parents, Sarah and Bechor Aharoni, and to Nurit's parents, Lola and Ephraim Bental.

The Always Clock in its Tasmanian myrtle case: the Mokume Gane face above a long rose gold pendulum ending in a ring framing Parliament House — The Always ClockEytan Aharoni, 2011

What each part says

A country in five metals

The clock face: the map of Australia in swirling Mokume Gane on the rose gold dial, with the gold hands — The faceRose gold dial, Mokume Gane frame, twelve pink diamonds for the hours

The map of Australia alone: a sheet of Mokume Gane metal patterned with rings and eyes in copper, silver and gold — The mapFive metals fused: its colours and shapes for the country's landscapes and its people

The pendulum: a Mokume Gane ring framing a rose gold silhouette of Parliament House — The pendulumParliament House swings left to right and right to left: a healthy democracy

The map of Australia is surrounded by a Mokume Gane frame. Twelve natural pink diamonds are set on its outer edge, for the abundance of Australia's natural treasures, its strength, its uniqueness.

And just as the sun always rises in the east and sets in the west, so too Parliament House will always swing from left to right and right to left.Eytan Aharoni, 20 March 2011

The book

The story, in Eytan's words

Eytan wrote a small book to go with the clock: its story, what each part stands for, and how it was made. Open it here and turn the pages.

Parliament House, 2012

Shown in the Speaker's suite

From 31 August 2012 the Always Clock was exhibited at Parliament House in Canberra, in the suite of the Speaker of the House, the first Mokume Gane pendulum clock in Australian history to be shown there.

The clock was also the subject of a cover story in Panorama, The Canberra Times’ magazine.

Two men lift a cloth from the Always Clock at its unveiling in Parliament House, an Australian flag beside them — The unveilingParliament House, Canberra

The Always Clock standing on a plinth beside an Australian flag — On display

Watch

Ten years on

For the clock’s tenth anniversary, we published a short film about it.

Technical specifications

What it is made of

Clock face frame: Mokume Gane, 18 karat white gold and sterling silver. Twelve natural fancy pink diamonds, 0.51 carats, bezel set in 18 karat rose gold. 115 mm across.
Clock face: 9 karat rose gold, rough matte finish. Face and frame together weigh 150 grams.
Map of Australia: Mokume Gane of five metals: 18 karat yellow gold, 18 karat rose gold, 18 karat palladium white gold, shakudo and sterling silver. About 81 by 55 mm.
Clock hands: Mokume Gane, 22 karat green gold and shakudo. 2.2 grams.
Pendulum rod: 18 karat rose gold, 270 mm long.
Parliament House: 18 karat rose gold, in a Mokume Gane frame of 18 karat white gold and sterling silver.
Case: Tasmanian myrtle, a timber found nowhere else. 205 by 500 mm.
Total weight: 257.7 grams of precious metal.

Next step

Ready when you are

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