SY905: why 50cm round reads better across a living room

The SY905 is a round mirrored clock listed at 50cm diameter, with a reflective face and a crushed diamond border. It is the larger of the two round clocks in a family of four in the clocks range, and the step up from 40cm to 50cm changes more than the numbers suggest.

The family, by size

What the extra 10cm does

Going from 40cm to 50cm is a quarter more across, but around 56 per cent more face area, and area is what you see from the far side of a room. That is the practical argument for the 50cm: it is the one to choose when the clock is read from a sofa several metres away, or when it has to hold its own on a wall above a sideboard rather than above a bedside table. The 40cm SY902 is the better answer for a hallway, a landing or a tight pier of wall.

Sizing the wall

• Over furniture, aim for a clock roughly half to two-thirds the width of the piece below. At 50cm that suggests something somewhere around 80cm to 110cm wide.
• On a chimney breast, measure the breast rather than the wall, and keep an even margin either side of the circle.
• Cut a 50cm circle from newspaper, tape it up, and look at it from where you will actually read it.
• Leave a clear, deliberate gap between the bottom of the clock and the top of the furniture, so the two read as a pair rather than touching.

Light the border, mind the reflection

The listing describes a mirrored face that catches light through the day and a crushed diamond border adding glamour and depth. A border like that needs a point of light to glint off, so a table lamp below it, a wall light beside it or daylight crossing the wall will do far more than a flat ceiling light. The mirrored face shows whatever is opposite, which is worth checking from your seat before you commit: facing a bright window, a mirrored dial can be harder to read when the sun is behind it.

What the listing does not state

• The type of movement, and whether it is battery powered.
• The weight, and whether a fixing is supplied. Ask us, then choose hardware for your wall rather than guessing.
• What the crushed diamond border is made from. The phrase describes the appearance; the material is not given.
• Whether the face is glazed, and how the hours are marked. Neither is described, so go by the photographs.

The alternatives at 50cm

At the same diameter, the SY907 swaps the crushed diamond border for a ring of teardrop crystals, and the SY903 Wall Clock sets the face in a staggered mirrored frame. If you want the square outline instead, the SY906 is 50 x 50cm. All four belong with the mirrored pieces in mirrors and accessories if the clock is going up beside a mirror.

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

You will find the photographs, the measurements and a question form on the SY905 page.