The LED Hourglass Lantern

Many cool gadgets we see these days and long for are in fact based on older ideas and concepts but with a new side added: the side of the modern technology that makes possible things which used to remain inaccessible in the past. It's the case of the Hourglass Lantern, a piece of lighting gadgetry that brings back of the all-time classic shapes – the hourglass; nevertheless, endowing it with a little from the actual technology renders new functionality and a more spectacular sight.

A great thing about the Hourglass Lantern is that it boasts a dual role: time-keeping and shedding light, with these two characteristics in a close relation to each other.

Instead of using sand for a graphic depiction of the passing time, the Hourglass Lantern uses LED light. Things are really simple and the effect is very nice: as time passes by, the light in the upper half of the hourglass is dimming, while the light in the lower cone becomes brighter. Somewhere around the half of the time it measures, the light in both halves of the hourglass will have the same intensity. Yet, it seems like the intensity of light is a tool far more inaccurate than the pouring sand, as it would certainly be very hard to approximate the remaining time.

Now, the owner of the Hourglass Lantern will set the cycle, with a twist of the two halves: the marking on the upper one cone will rotate along a scale on engraved in the lower one and tell you the time. We cannot but assume that the twisting movement is reversed as time ticks and a quick glance at the scale and marker could give us a hint about how much time is left.

Despite its lack of accuracy when it comes to telling time, the LED Hourglass Lantern looks simply awesome thanks to the moving light effect it generates and would surely add a cozy atmosphere to your den.

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