Telling time has not just been an early human endeavour, but also a necessity from an early stage. The progression has gone from sundials to sand clock, moving on to hand clock, and finally the digital clock, and even the smart clock! So, it is, perhaps, an understandable surprise that a time keeping brand has reverted to an early stage – telling time by words.
However, German clock brand QlockTwo has done just that. Its now famous faces are known for reading out the time. And the brand has its reasoning worked out. “People used to look at the sun, to look at the moon, and this is how they used to fix their rendezvous,” explains Jens Adamik, Managing Partner, who was in India for the opening of the brand store in Bengaluru. “For example, if I want a short term or a daytime rendezvous, I will tell you we are going to meet when the sun is up, or if I want, for example, a medium term rendezvous, I will tell you we’re going to meet in the next full moon. And that was the ideology of bringing a moon phase clock into the market. That was how humans communicated time.”
He fast-forwards to today, and says, “If you look at your watch, where it has hands, or at your mobile where there are digits, you then translate it and then you tell it. However, when you look at QlockTwo, our clocks, it communicates with you. It speaks to you directly without the need of translating, without the need of doing the math. It just, you know, speaks to you directly.”
The origin
In 2009, two artists, Marco Bigard and Andreas Funk, created three extraordinary objects that would fundamentally change the way how time is displayed. Incidentally, it started not as a business activity but as an art project. And then this art object became more and more popular and the company began to grow. “Now we have subsidiaries in the United States, Switzerland and Dubai, and have won more than 40 international design awards in the last 15 years, ” says Mr. Adamik. “In Germany we are also a designated ‘cultural asset’.”
The Earth clock tells the time as is – as devised by man on Earth. The Moon clock, as the name implies, tells the phases of the moon through 14 axially driven slates that change each day to mimic the moon.
As for where the brand positions itself, Mr. Adamik says the Schwäbisch Gmünd, Baden-Württemberg-based brand sees itself not just as an art company or a clock company, but something in between. “We started with an art object, but then we are also a clock company. Our distribution partners around the world are also very different. We have watch retailers like our partner here in India, ethos, but we are also connected to the furniture industry, to art galleries. So we are not focused on one customer group but all.”
“…there are also customers of QlockTwo who have nothing to do with design, art, interior design, clocks, watches, but they are influenced by the design. They fall in love and think, I need one of these objects at home.”
As to who the core customer of the brand is, Mounir Skhir, General Manager, MENA & South East Asia, says, “The customer is everyone between the age of 25 and above. Everyone has an eye for luxury. Everyone who wants something different, a clock that touches their hearts. So we have, for example, architects, we have homeowners, we have office owners, watch lovers, time lovers, art lovers and design lovers. We have everyone. We are connecting humans.”
“They are just homeowners who want a nice piece of art inside their homes,” adds Mr. Adamik. “The beauty is that we see it very often, especially in Europe, that there are also customers of QlockTwo who have nothing to do with design, art, interior design, clocks, watches, but they are influenced by the design. They fall in love and think, I need one of these objects at home. Sometimes from the first moment of the planning of the new house or building, they know exactly which is the right place for the new QlockTwo. We get messages from customers who ask about the technical specifications about the objects to make the right setting ready for the new house.”
Europe is the largest market for the brand, but the Middle East and United States markets are growing very fast, says Mr. Adamik. Qlocktwo has recently collaborated with BMW as well.
Reaching Indian shores
QlockTwo has been working with Ethos Group in India, since last year, as their exclusive retail partner. Mr. Adamik does see great potential in the Indian market. “Indians are proud homeowners and they take care of their houses and also know about the objects that they put. For the clock too. It is not just a clock, but it is a piece of art for many. This is a design object that comes in multiple colours and can fit any interiors.”
He continues, “India is a very important market for us due to its history, due to its legacy with arts, with designs and what India, be it as an old civilization or what the new Indian republic is offering to the world – of developments of architecture or the new one in terms they are still continuing in the art, in the architecture and adding also, you know, to so many other industries. So, what India has done in the past and in the future, what they are still offering, it is a privilege to be part of the development of this country and to be part of this nation.”
QlockTwo is now available in 23 languages, in the Earth and Moon series.
Mr. Skhir mentions that one of the reasons to open a boutique in UB City, Bangalore, was to be closer to their customers. “We would like to add value to our customers, to do workshops, to have a dedicated person in India to explain to them about what QlockTwo is and what it stands for in terms of philosophy. So far, we have seen a lot of success in India,” Mr. Skhir says proudly.
For him, and her
A unique proposition for the brand is its ability to customise colours to meet the preferences of the customer. The brand has an extensive range of options, including gold, silver and platinum leaves. While historically their clocks don’t need any service, according to Mr. Adamik, the India boutique will also do servicing.
Both say the clocks do not have a gender skew, rather the clocks are bought as a “couple decision”. “Even in Dubai, it was always couples who came to visit us,” says Mr. Skhir. “We also see that QlockTwo is very successful in the business with offices. A lot of attorneys, doctors have QlockTwo in their offices, and also C-level offices. So it’s a combination – at home, often the women will make the final decision. But for businesses, it’s also done as a status symbol from the owner.”
Mr. Adamik mentions that the brand does work in different markets with different strategies and the brand also does limited editions for special markets. “This is something that we would like to do also for the Indian market – to have special products which are only available here. We know that the customers love unique pieces, one-of-a-kind products. This is also something that we are working on.”
QlockTwo is now available in 23 languages, in the Earth and Moon series. The brand is in the process of embedding in other languages, though when an Indian language will feature is still not decided. Next on the anvil is the Sun series, for which the brand is promising to deliver an entirely new way of telling time. Watch this space.
