Cold cathode displays exude a unique ambiance thanks to the glow emanating from their gas-filled tubes. The incandescent aura provides a room-setting effect that is unlike anything typical electric lighting can offer. Though they are deemed industrially obsolete, the Nixie tubes which harnessed cold cathode display have been preserved by an ardent sense of nostalgia. Nixie watches like those owned by Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, highlight how timepieces can harness this technology into a design aesthetic rife with a sense of retro-futurism. The Adatte Design Nixie Time Zone Clock V2 takes that approach with a timekeeping centerpiece that can transform any room.
An anodized bronze-gray tube houses 3 pairs of Nixie tubes to display numerals that measure the hours, minutes, and seconds in five different time zones. Engravings of the cities of New York, London, Geneva, Dubai, and Taipei are hand-finished in an orange enamel that completes the industrial color scheme of the world clock. Twisting the dial encompassing the names of those cities recalibrates the amber aura of the Nixie tubes to display each particular timezone.