Original · 2026

Intersecting Circles

Three dials that cross at a single point.

Seconds Ticks and numbers

Full screen

How to read

The three dials cross at one point – and that point is the time.

Fig. 1

Hours
The circle that stands still is the hour dial. The minute circle crosses it exactly where the hour hand of a classic clock would point.
Fig. 2

Minutes
The minute circle sits so that the same crossing point is also on its own rim, exactly where the minute hand would point if the minute circle were a classic dial.
Fig. 3

Seconds
The seconds circle follows the same logic: it passes through the same point, exactly where the second hand would point on its own dial.

Rules it breaks

Compared with the classic clock.

R1
The classic clock
All hands turn around one centre.

Here →Each dial has its own centre. Instead, the three circles cross at one point – and that point is the time.
Also broken by Touching Circles
R2
The classic clock
The dial stands still; the hands move.

Here →Only the hour dial stands still. The minute and seconds dials move, so that the shared point always sits at the right place on each of them.
Also broken by Touching Circles
R3
The classic clock
Each unit has its own hand.

Here →One point is the hand for all three. Hours, minutes and seconds are read at the same spot – each on its own dial.

Same as the classic clock

12 at the top
Clockwise
The hour alone tells the rough time
12-hour cycle
The hour is the smallest

Story

This is one of my favourite clock designs. It is a kind of inverse of the classic clock: there, the three hands start from one shared point; here, they arrive at one. There are no hands drawn on this clock – the picture would be too crowded – but you can imagine them.

And I love how the seconds move. There is something rule-breaking about it, and yet it is elegant.