SG04 Clock: sizing a 70cm gold sunburst over a sofa or fireplace

The SG04 Clock is listed at 70cm diameter, in a gold frame with a sunburst effect dial whose rays run outwards from the centre. It is the widest of the three gold clocks in the clocks range, and at that diameter it is the thing the wall is arranged around rather than something you fit in afterwards.

The three gold clocks side by side

Only 2cm separates the SG04 from the SG03, so the choice between those two is really about the dial: the SG04 and the SG02 are both described with a sunburst effect, the SG03 is not. The SG02 is the one to look at if you want the same style on a smaller scale.

Sizing the wall and the furniture under it

• Over a sofa: a three-seat sofa is usually somewhere around 180cm to 210cm wide, and a 70cm dial centred over it reads as about a third of that width, which is a comfortable proportion. On a two-seat sofa the same clock starts to dominate.
• Over a fireplace: measure the chimney breast, not the room. A 70cm circle wants a breast well over a metre wide to keep an even margin either side.
• Height: hang it so the centre of the dial is near the eye-line of someone standing, then check it still clears the back of the sofa or the mantel with a visible gap. Tape the outline on the wall and live with it for an evening before you drill.
• The rays: a sunburst reads wider than its diameter because the eye follows the points outwards. Allow more clear wall around it than you would for a plain round face.

Lighting a sunburst dial

The listing describes each ray catching the light. That effect depends on the light arriving across the face rather than straight at it, so the piece will do more on a wall lit from the side by a window, a lamp or a wall light than on one washed flat by a central ceiling fitting. If the wall is lit head-on, a table lamp at one end of the furniture below is usually enough to bring the rays out in the evening.

What to ask us before you order

• The type of movement, and whether it is battery powered. Neither is stated on the listing.
• Neither is the weight or the hanging hardware. At 70cm that is the first question to ask, and the answer decides what fixing your wall needs.
• The material beneath the gold finish is not stated, nor whether the finish is polished or matt.
• How far the frame stands off the wall, which matters in a hallway or on a landing.

Other directions in the range

For a mirrored face instead of metal, the SY905 is a 50cm round clock with a crushed diamond border and the SY907 is a 50cm round face framed in teardrop crystals. Both are smaller than the SG04 and both sit in the wider mirrors and accessories range, which is the place to look if the clock and a mirror are going on the same wall.

Delivery is free within 50 miles of our Glasgow store and £50 beyond that.

Photographs, the full dimensions and a question form are on the SG04 Clock page.