Apple veteran Marc Newson has designed a $12000 hourglass

Industrial designer Marc Newson, one of the people behind the Apple Watch, has designed a beautiful, expensive timepiece that’s worth $12,000. Sound enticing? Feast your eyes on the Hourglass.

The Hourglass is made of pyrex, about six inches tall, and filled with 1,249,996 copper ball bearings — oh, excuse me, “nanoballs” — which keep ten minutes’ worth of time. Should you choose to buy it, you must put down a $6,000 nonrefundable deposit.

It’s not the most expensive timepiece Newson has ever designed. He also had a hand in designing the original Apple Watch Edition, the most expensive version of which cost $17,000. Still, unless the Hourglass can sing “Bad Romance” while naming every Kentucky Derby winner in history, I don’t see how it comes within two zeroes of the same price.

Hodinkee’s description of the hourglass includes such gems as this:

Each custom-fitted orange foam box also contains a leather coaster on which you should always set the Hourglass to avoid scratching it. Likewise, there is a pair of white gloves in each package, and we suggest using them to avoid leaving fingerprints.

That might sound rather precious at first glance, but if I paid $12,000 for a piece of glass, I’d want it to be smudge-free at all times, too.

Admittedly, it’s quite beautiful. But call me a blind swordsman, because I don’t see the point. We already have a desk accessory with metallic balls for hypnotizing bored people: it’s called Newton’s Cradle.

Still, for all my lowbrow jabs at this thing, I know someone, somewhere is going to buy it.