When discussing the bygone golden age of air travel, a handful of defunct airlines consistently dominate the conversation. Pan-Am, BOAC, and the vividly painted planes of Braniff International have justly earned a place of admiration among aviation buffs, but there’s one name that arguably stands out above the rest: TWA. With its clean read-and-white livery, lengthy track record, and gargantuan size, TWA is a nostalgic touchstone for fans of vintage travel. In addition, TWA’s beautifully streamlined mid-century modernist terminal at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport is a national historic landmark and a masterpiece of Jet Age design, penned by renowned Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen. At the heart of this former flight center (now operating as the ultra-chic TWA Hotel) hangs a massive three-sided Vulcain clock, and for its latest release, the Swiss brand aims to capture the ‘60s style and globetrotting mystique of this historic clock for the home. The new Vulcain TWA Flight Center Desk Clock continues the brand’s stylish vintage reimaginings with a solidly built, strikingly retro-futuristic table-size version of an architectural icon.

To adapt a terminal-sized, ceiling-mounted terminal clock for home use, the Vulcain TWA  Flight Center Desk Clock essentially flips the 1962 original upside-down. In this way (along with a handful of other notable tweaks) it’s more of a reinterpretation than a replica, beginning with its solidly built 316L stainless steel case. The first impression one gets handling this desk-size 83mm wide, 126mm high sculptured case is surprising weight. This is a solid chunk of stainless steel through and through, with the resulting form offering a pleasingly massive heft in the hand. Like the original TWA terminal clock, the spherical three-dial timekeeping display is attached to the ribbed, jet nozzle-esque base by three elegantly slender, curving arms, lending the design an impressive balance between solidity and airiness. Of course, the base is far smaller in proportion to the spherical display here than in the original, and the visual balance between the saucer-diameter base and the slightly larger than baseball-sized sphere works well for its intended environment. The warm, almost champagne-hued gray coating on the case is mostly a finely grained satin finish, but in between the raised ribs of the base, this material takes on a coarser, sand-cast matte look. Compared with the beige concrete of the original terminal clock, it’s a more refined, elevated look that suits this more ornamental clock well.

The real centerpiece of the case, however, is the three-sided time display. In essence, the Vulcain TWA Flight Center Desk Clock is three fully independent clocks in a shared mount, each secured to the case with a rotating, bayonet-style quarter-turn locking system. With this system, each dial is individually removable or adjustable, allowing the clock to track three separate time zones or to make a single time zone visible from every viewing angle. One last addition Vulcain makes to the original TWA clock design here is the addition of domed crystals for each individual clock face. While the flat-dial, crystal-less style of the original worked well for a massive, public timepiece well out of the public’s reach, the possibility of incidental contact with the hands here makes crystals a necessity. What’s more, the crystals help to more fully complete the spherical form here, giving the desk clock a more futuristic, Jetsons-esque feel.

Naturally, a large-scale public clock like the original TWA terminal clock places a priority on quick, long-distance legibility over anything else, and the Vulcain TWA Flight Center Desk Clock follows its forebear’s example. Each of the three identical dials is the sort of clean, high-visibility midcentury design one might find in a school or government building, but Vulcain executes this simple, functional formula with refinement. For example, the wide, crisp Arabic numerals, airy outer minutes track, and 6 o’clock Vulcain logo are all printed in high-gloss, raised black, giving a touch of dimensionality to the layout and offering faint highlights at some viewing angles. Likewise, the simple tapering baton hands are faceted and coated with gloss black for a handsome sheen. Most noticeably, though, Vulcain abandons the simple matte white dial surfaces of the 1962 clock in favor of richly grained silver sunburst dials. The texture and depth of these sunbursts greatly add to the overall sense of refinement for this clock, an important move when making the jump from a public utility to a considerably priced desk ornament.

Each of the three dials in the Vulcain TWA Flight Center Desk Clock uses its own dedicated Ronda 712 quartz movement. This is likely to be a point of contention among enthusiasts. On one hand, the refinement and perceived quality of even affordable mechanical movements would be attractive here, but in practical terms the ordeal of disassembling, winding, and setting all three movements every few days as the power reserve depleted would quickly become tiresome. Conversely, not only are quartz movements far more accurate (rated at -10/+20 seconds per month in this case) and generally stress-free, the 712 is solidly built and offers a hefty 60 months of claimed battery life. Given that the TWA Flight Center Desk Clock features no running second hands, either way, it’s a sensible compromise.

Even decades after its shutdown, TWA remains a favorite among lovers of the golden age of air travel, and few places capture the futuristic optimism of the Jet Age better than the airline’s former terminal at John F. Kennedy International Airport. The Vulcain clock at the heart of this architectural masterpiece is a landmark in its own right, and the new Vulcain TWA Flight Center Desk Clock handsomely reinvents this ‘60s design for home use with reworked proportions, solid construction, and a more refined, elevated feel. The Vulcain TWA Flight Center Desk Clock will be available for pre-order through the brand’s e-commerce platform as of September 26, 2024. MSRP for this clock stands at $1,300 USD as of press time. For more information, please visit the brand’s website.