Top Ten Largest Clock In The World

The world has many notably enormous clocks; so OnlineClock.net has dedicated this particular blog post to the subject of the 10 largest clock faces in the world!

1. Mecca Clock In Mecca, Saudi Arabia

Not only is this clock the world’s largest, it is also currently the newest enormous clock. Construction of this monstrous structure was completed in August of 2010. During the first day of the holy month of Ramadan, the Mecca Clock was started, tested and is now functioning, replacing the default Greenwich Mean Time for Muslims. A four-faced structure, the Mecca Clock sits atop the 601-meter Abraj Albait Tower, which is the 2nd largest in the world, trumped only by the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. With a diameter of 43 meters, each of the clock faces easily outdo Big Ben’s face measurements.

2. Cevahir Mall Clock In Istanbul, Turkey

This clock was built to beat the record size of the Flower Clock in Tehran. Constructed in 2005, the Cevahir Mall Clock measures 36 meters in diameter, located on the large glass roof of the mall. The digits on the face of this structure are 3 meters high.

3. Duquesne Brewing Company Clock In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

In 1933, at the time of its construction, this timepiece was the largest single-faced clock in the world. An octagon-shaped structure, it sits atop the brewing company. The clock’s face hasn’t always sat there, though. Designed by John Franklin, founder of Audichron, this .93 kW-driven Janett motor clock originally was situated in the Mount Washington neighborhood in Pittsburgh, utilized to house advertisements for companies such as Schlitz Beer and Coca-Cola. Duquesne purchased the face in 1960, but currently AT&T has rented it’s surface as an advertisement space.

4. Colgate Clock In New Jersey City, New Jersey

With a diameter of 15.24 meters, the current Colgate Clock is located on the Hudson River’s shore on an empty lot. Once the site of the Colgate Company, this clock has stood alone since 1985 when the headquarters moved. The original Colgate Clock was built by The Seth Thomas Clock Company in 1906, replaced by the current octagon-shaped structure in 1924. Until 1976, John Winters worked hard to maintain the newer clock. Today it is maintained by the famous financial giant Goldman Sachs, whose headquarters is within minutes from the lot.

5. The Flower Clock In Tehran, Iran

Combining nature and science, the Flower Clock’s face is made of greenery and floral plants, featuring a functioning time-telling structure, set automatically by a computer system to correspond with a motor controlling the 3 hands. Smaller than the Colgate Clock only by a fraction, the Flower Clock measures 15 meters in diameter. This enormous clock face weighs 750 kgs. When it was built in June of 2005, it was the 3rd largest clock in the world. Constructed with provisions from the Tehran Municipality, the Flower Clock took 2 years to be build, costing 600 million rials; converted into U.S dollars, that would be a little over $65,000.

6. Allen Bradley Clock Tower In Milwaukee, Wisconsin

The Guinness Book of World Records once quoted this clock as being the largest four-faced clock – of course with the latest addition of the Mecca Clock, this record is obsolete. Now the 2nd largest four-faced clock, the Allen Bradley clock tower faces measure 12.28 meters in diameter. The timepiece was unveiled in October of 1962, only 3 years after it had been originally drawn in plans. With the help of architect Fitzhugh Scott, Harry and Allen Bradley made plans for this structure. The two brothers were the founders of Rockwell Automation. Paying respect the the most famous historical clock commonly referred to as Big Ben, the brothers chose not to put a chime in their clock, providing that Big Ben would remain the world’s largest four-faced chiming clock structure.

7. Colgate Clock In Clarksville, Indiana

The Colgate Company was once famous for having two of the largest clocks in the world. This specific clock in Indiana has slowly moved down the list, but is still a monstrosity, its octagonal face measuring 12.19 meters in diameter. Designed by Warren Day, this was the original Colgate Clock built in 1906 by the Seth Thomas Clock Company for the original factory in New Jersey. As mentioned before, the clock was replaced in 1924. This clock was moved to the new company location in Indiana and introduced for the first time there in 1924. According to the Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana, this clock and its building, which was built in 1821, are both on the 10 Most Endangered Landmarks list for the state.

8. Floral Clock In Frankfort, Kentucky

Funded and dedicated by Governor Bert Combs, this clock was built by the Kentucky Garden Club in 1961, unveiled in May. For ample visibility, the timepiece’s single round dial is tilted at a 26-degree angle, with a face measuring 10 meters in diameter. The word “Kentucky” and 3 stars wrap around the circumference. Its impressive mechanical features include a power unit in the pedestal that moves the hands, made of 6 gears and an electrical meter. A precise distance is correlated with each passing second, causing each hand to move a different distance to display the correct time. This clock boasts a special feature in its gears that will correct any mistakes in the displayed time every hour; the same feature will also reset the clock if the power fails.

9. Aarau Railway Station Clock In Aarau, Switzerland

One of the largest functioning clocks made in the same fashion as a Swiss railway clock, this structure is a modern clock face mounted on the glass of the Aarau station. With a diameter of 9 meters, this timepiece is now Europe’s largest clock face, replacing its 8.7-meter predecessor in Zurich, housed in a 13th-century church tower.

10. Moscow State University Clock In Moscow, Russia

Measuring 9 meters in diameter, this clock ties with its Swiss competitor. Made of stainless steel, the timepiece has some of the heaviest components, with the second hand alone weighing 39 kg. An accompanying barometer and thermometer are also housed with this clock, which was built in 1953.