I would like to meet the genius who dreamt up shining an LED clock THROUGH wood. Through it! As if it were transparent! Unreal... and so elegantly matched with the other lovely wood things in your home.

You can turn off the clock so the object becomes merely a lovely wood block... and them flip on the LED display when time is of the essence.

ThisNext has one in its development office... which causes the rest of us much jealousy. (via UncommonGoods)

Very cool idea and it looks just as cool in person. I keep running my fingers over the face just to prove to myself that it is a smooth block of wood. As you might expect, it's best viewed in a darker room, but even in a brightly lit environment the red glowing numbers are visible in the wood and create a ghostly effect.

Not all "Wooden LED Clocks" are created equal, a least in price. You can pay $469 from Compact-Impact, $150 from ThinkGeek, or $30 from TheWIrelessCatalog with their current sale. You can guess which route I went.

The clock I received from Wireless is fairly large with large LED digits. This clock is attractive and elegant in concept, but I do have a little gripe. Since it seems targeted at the "minimalist" audience, why do the dots have to flash; and why does it have to switch back and forth every few seconds between the time and the date? I think this clock fits in a "cool, designy product" atmosphere like the ThisNext offices, but I would hesitate to put it in my living room because of the flashy nature. (via laurasweet)