17th Century Skull and Crossbones Automaton Timepiece
This breathtaking brass antique is nearly 400 years old and puts every clock I’ve ever owned to shame.
Crafted in 1610 by German designer Nicolaus Schmidt der Junger, this skull table watch sits atop a pair of crossed shin bones mounted on a tripod. The automaton jaw opens over the course of three minutes, then quickly bites down, and a snake darts out of each eye socket twice a minute. The clockface is revealed by popping open the hinged brass skullcap.
This impressive piece of steampunk worthy craftsmanship recently sold for $135,000 USD. The above photo of the clockface is from the Symbolic Collection site, where it appears to be available for sale (at an undisclosed price.) If you’ve got an astronomically high credit limit, they happily accept Visa, Mastercard, and AmEx.
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