FAQ
What does The Present do?
The Present gives owners and their families a front row seat to the previously elusive nature of cyclical time, revealing a refreshing perspective on how you think and feel about the here and now.
How does it feel?
The Present offers a range of well documented benefits, from feeling grounded, to a deeper appreciation for life and a welcome sense of balance in time.
Why does The Present matter?
The Present helps people experience time in a more meaningful, life-affirming way.
What needs does The Present serve?
The Present serves the needs of anyone looking for a more meaningful relationship with time.
It is designed for anyone curious about experiencing time in a more thoughtful, deliberate, and interesting way.
The Present addresses feelings of stress, anxiety, and time poverty by providing an additional perspective on time that allows people to focus on what truly matters in their lives.
What makes it valuable?
Firstly, it is a functional, practical tool for personal growth and transformation, serving as a tangible reminder of the value of change as it plays out in nature.
Secondly, it is a one-of-a-kind timepiece that is not available anywhere else, making it a unique and exclusive addition to any collection.
Finally, the value the product brings to the owner, both in terms of its beauty and functionality, as well as the deeper sense of meaning and purpose that it can inspire in one's life.
Why make The Present?
The Present offers a new way of experiencing time, allowing you to feel more present, connected, and grounded in the world around you.
What is The Present's essential role in people's lives?
To provide a new perspective on time, help people cultivate a deeper appreciation for its cyclical nature and to encourage a healthier relationship with the living world.
What impact does The Present have on the world?
The impact of The Present on the world is two-fold.
On an individual level, it has the potential to transform people's relationship with time and improve their well-being by fostering a deeper sense of connection to the natural world.
On a broader level, The Present has the potential to contribute to a more sustainable and mindful culture by challenging the dominant narrative of industrial time and productivity.
By encouraging a shift towards cyclical time, The Present promotes a more harmonious relationship between humans and the planet.
Why buy The Present instead of a traditional clock?
Conventional time is ubiquitous.
The Present has the ability to elevate the way we understand and experience time, helping you cultivate a deeper appreciation for the rhythms of life.
Unlike traditional clocks or productivity tools, The Present combines elegant analog design with metaphysical first principles to create a work of art that 'levels up' your temporal cognition.
With its novel approach to time, The Present provides a rejuvenating perspective that helps you shift time from foe to friend.
Why now?
We live in the long term effects of short term thinking.
The vast majority of society's ills stem from a lack of understanding the nature and value of time. Our shared present passes us by the second we are able to acknowledge it. With such a narrow vision of the present, we have inadvertently made it practically impossible to conjure a shared future.
These philosophical instruments address the unintended side effects of conventional time; short term thinking, anxiety, fomo, and a sense of never feeling grounded in the present.
How is The Present made?
The Present is a limited edition work of art featuring:
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- custom clock movement programmed with original code
- circuit board fabricated using a thin layer of 99.9% gold
- engineered to last for decades on the pre-installed batteries
- solid cork body crafted and imported from Portugal
- brushed stainless steel rings engineered to pressure fit together
- custom contact-lens-like wide angle glass made in the USA
- art prints by Duggal in NYC on state of the art UV printers
- original tooling for the fiberglass/resin hand-painted clock hands
- a machined, engraved and anodized 4mm thick aluminum back plate
- custom 3D printed hanging component
- discrete magnetic connection points on back plates
- initialized, assembled and ships from New England
- custom clock movement programmed with original code
Who makes it and why?
Scott Thrift believes life deserves its own devices of measurement.
Limiting our experience of time to the short term industrial edition is the source of countless modern problems, all of which can and will be alleviated as we adopt a deeper and more meaningful relationship with time as a species.
In 2003, he co-founded the multi award winning production company m ss ng p eces, which he helped to grow into a runaway success until 2013, when he shifted his focus to clockmaking.
In 2011, he launched a popular Kickstarter campaign for an “annual clock” known as “The Present” — whose hand would complete a rotation once per year.
In 2016, he introduced a second clock, this one with a hand that completes a rotation once per day — known as “Today”.
In 2020, he introduced a third clock — this one revealing the cycles of the moon. In adding this lunar clock, Scott simplified the naming of his trio of timepieces into a singular collection known simply as The Present.
A bestseller in Tokyo and NYC at the MoMA Design Store, The Present is "on" in thousands of homes across forty-two countries.
You can peruse the profound experiences owners are having on the testimonials page or learn more about Scott through the articles on his work over time here, press.
The Present is Thrift's life work.
You can ask ChatGPT "Who is Scott Thrift?" !