SY922 Map Clock: a 46cm dial with cogs that turn on their own

The SY922 is the smaller cog clock. At ∅46cm it is the one that fits a wall where ∅59cm would be too much, and the face is the point of it: black, with an intricately printed map and silver accents, and an internal cog decoration visible through the face. The listing is specific that those gears move independently, powered by their own mechanism. The photographs and the full listing are on the SY922 map clock page.

46cm, and why that is the useful size

Diameter is the only size figure these four carry, so within this group it is the only honest comparison. Other clocks in the category are listed as a width and a height instead, and the gold-framed SG clocks are listed larger again, so this is one family and not the whole range.

Those 13cm between the SY922 and the SY919 matter more than they sound. A ∅46cm dial works above a 110cm to 130cm sideboard, in a kitchen, in a home office, or on a chimney breast where a 59cm dial would sit too close to the shelves either side. Allow 15cm of clear wall all round and centre it a little above standing eye level. No depth is given on the listing, so if it is going somewhere people brush past, ask us for the projection.

A printed map face: where it works and where it does not

A map is detail, and detail competes with hands. Three honest points about that:

• It rewards a close view. This is a clock to hang where people stand near it, in a study, a hallway or above a desk, rather than across a large living room where the map detail disappears and only the hands register.
• It needs a plain wall. A printed face against patterned paper or slat panelling is two patterns fighting. Pale, plain and matt is where it reads best.
• The listing does not name the map. It says intricately printed map with silver accents and nothing about which projection or which part of the world is shown, so look at the photographs before you buy if that matters to you.

The cogs, as the listing describes them

This is the feature and it deserves accurate wording. The listing says the internal cog decoration is visible through the face, that the gears move independently, and that they are powered by their own mechanism, turning the clock into a moving piece rather than a static one.

What it does not say is how that mechanism is powered, whether it takes its own battery or shares one with the movement, and whether it is audible when it runs. In a hallway that is a non-question. In a bedroom or a quiet office it is the first thing to ask, so ask us and we will put it to the supplier rather than tell you what we think the answer probably is.

What the listing does not state

Named plainly: no movement type, no battery size, no note on whether the second hand ticks or sweeps quietly, no weight, no depth from the wall, no fixing detail, and no material for the face or the frame beyond the colours and finishes described. Any of it, ask us.

What it compares with

If you want the same moving cogs on a bigger dial, the SY919 is ∅59cm with a black face and polished silver detail. If you prefer an open, architectural face without moving parts, the SY920 Wall Clock and the SY921 Wall Clock are both ∅54cm, and only the SY921 has its numerals described as Roman. The full range is in Clocks.

Before you order

• Tape a 46cm circle on the wall and check the gap to whatever flanks it.
• Hang it where the map is seen from a metre or two, not from across a room.
• Keep it reachable for cleaning and for a battery change.
• Ask us about the cog mechanism, any noise, the fixing and the current lead time.

Delivery is free within 50 miles of our Glasgow store and £50 beyond. Once the wall is marked out, order the SY922 map clock, or tell us the wall width and viewing distance and we will say whether 46cm or 59cm is the better dial.