About
The Present gives you a new way to experience time.
Instead of racing through seconds, it moves slowly — one full year, one quiet revolution — showing now as part of the natural rhythm of the seasons.
Since 2012, thousands of people around the world have invited The Present into their homes — not because they needed another way to track time, but because they wanted to feel it differently.
Each one is crafted by hand in Vermont, designed to last a lifetime.
The Present doesn’t just tell time — it completes it.
First Edition (2012)
Why is it called The Present?
Because that’s what it shows you — the present moment as a part of bigger story of time.
One hand.
One slow revolution.
One full year.
It helps you see time at the speed of life, turning the moment into something you can see, feel, and live with.
Give yourself The Present and see the time you’ve been missing.
What Owners Say
Since 2012, over eight thousand people in forty-two countries have brought The Present into their homes.
Not because they needed another way to tell time but because they wanted to feel time differently.
Here’s what owners say it brings to their lives:
• A more profound, calmer sense of what it means to be present.
• A way to see change unfolding at a more natural, forgiving pace.
• A beautifully crafted, precision-made piece of art — built to last in Vermont.
• A conversation piece that invites reflection and sparks curiosity.
• A quiet connection to a global community rethinking how we live with time.
150 testimonials
The video below launched the concept back in 2011. We have come a long way from the original prototype seen here. We are now on our seventh edition!
Crafted with Care
The Present is precision-engineered and thoughtfully crafted to remain accurate for decades.
Since 2012, every custom component has evolved across seven different editions of The Present.
After all of this time, what remains is a remarkable work of functional art with a 20-year warranty. It is designed to last for decades beyond the warranty.
If you ever have an issue, even after the twenty years passes, let us know. Every part is replaceable as needed, ensuring longevity and reliability.
Each timepiece is assembled in Vermont and is packed with a notecard signifying its limited edition authenticity.
About the Founder
Scott Thrift is reshaping how we experience time with his life’s work, The Present.
With a background in film studies, Scott co-founded the Emmy award-winning production company 'm ss ng p eces.' His extensive travels and documentation of diverse design processes informed a unique global perspective on the human condition.
Anxious for time to have more meaning and for the moment to last longer than a single second, he created The Present, to help bring himself and anyone else interested into greater harmony with the natural world.
A bestseller at the MoMA Design Store, Scott's timepieces are now in thousands of homes across forty-two countries.
Since 2012
Thrift has made and shipped over eight thousand timepieces. He could not have done this without the help of dozens of partners and thousands of individual backers worldwide.
The latest edition is the seventh generation, crafted with industrial design help from Che-Wei Wang & Taylor Levy of the award-winning design duo CW&T.
It features a first-of-its-kind clock movement engineered by Josh Levine of josh.com to run for decades on the included batteries.
The Present Icon and communication design is a collaboration with the artist Jonathan Harris.
What's it like to live with The Present?
Visit our Testimonial page to find out.
Visit Thrift's LinkedIn here.
The Present Inc.
Founded in 2012, after a decade in NYC, The Present's home is now in Burlington, Vermont, the country's fresh-air capital.
We meticulously craft and assemble each timepiece by hand. The latest edition of The Present is its seventh, guided by feedback from our valued international community.
Let us know if you have any other questions by messaging us at:
hello @ thepresent dot is
This picture was made on February 16th.
