Howard Miller - Clock History

by Hanna McPhee

“Incomparable workmanship. Unsurpassed Quality. A quest for perfection.” - Howard Miller

Howard Miller photo

Howard Miller’s mission statement is about as nostalgic as it gets. The old saying “they don’t make them like they used to” gets overused a lot but I think it’s pretty safe here compared to the cheap, fast tech used today. If you are into American furniture design history Howard Miller’s clocks are the ones for you.

This mission statement built an American clock company that’s endured wars, economic downturns, and just about every clock trend of the 20th century. Founded in 1926, the Howard Miller Clock company originally started as the clock division of Herman Miller Inc.  Eventually Howard Miller spun off into its own separate company that still operates today.

A little backstory on Howard Miller before getting into his clocks. Born in 1905, Howard Miller studied the art of clockmaking in Germany before immigrating to Wisconsin with his father Herman. 

If you’re wondering why Herman sounds familiar, he’s the Herman of Herman Miller - one of the most iconic American furniture and design brands of the 20th and 21st century. They’re best known for working with famous architects and industrial designers like Charles and Ray Eames, and Isamu Noguchi to create pieces like the  Eames Lounge Chair, Noguchi Table, and Marshmallow Sofa. Herman Miller is also known for inventing the “Action Office” with Robert Propst - which eventually morphed into what we all know as the cubicle. Honestly, we should have all kept the name “Action Office” instead of the demoralizing “cubicle”.

Eames Lounge ChairNoguchi TableMarshmallow Sofa


So, born into manufacturing and design royalty, Howard Miller had a deep respect for quality. You see that in his company mission statement, and almost every time he speaks to his work:


“Our focus is not on only building a product that is dependable and has quality; we’re building a product that is going to be passed on from one generation to the next” - Howard Miller


Originally in the 1920s the company focused on wall and mantle chime clocks. In 1933 they made a segway into more modern clocks. Howard Miller hit their aesthetic stride in the 40s while working with George Nelson Associates (George Nelson was the Director of Design at Herman Miller).

The partnership produced trend setting avant garde clocks now kept in museums and coveted by collectors. George Nelson clocks are best known for their “sunburst” clock style with forms like the spike, ball, and spindle. These styles were also picked up by Vitra, another iconic furniture and design brand from Switzerland. (A blog post for another day).

Howard Miller Advertisement

Howard Miller also partnered with Nathan George Horwitt to create the Museum Clocks. Horwitt originally produced his best known design - the “Museum Watch'' with Swiss watchmakers Vacheron & Constantin-Le Coultre Watches, Inc. This piece was added into the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in 1960.

The “Museum Watch''

 

Horwitt’s iconic watch and clock designs are all simple and modern, with the only marking being a circle affixed to the clock face at 12:00 (intended to be reminiscent of a sundial). Soon after producing the watch Vacheron, Howard Miller produced the design as a wall clock and desk clock.

the “Museum Watch'' wall clock version

In 1960 Howard Miller started focusing on grandfather clocks and eventually earned the title “World’s Largest Grandfather Clock Manufacturer.” This was a big transition in the design language of Howard Miller clocks - as they morphed from modern avant gaurde to large pieces of furniture known for their ornate cabinetry and complex mechanical systems. Currently most of the Nelson and other modern style clocks are discontinued, but the commitment to quality still remains:

“It’s more than just making something. You’re Making something that has a life. It has chimes. You go into a house and hear those chimes every fifteen minutes, that house has a life that another house doesn’t have.” - Howard Miller


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