A clock is not only for telling us time, a clock is a masterpiece of craftsmanship and design. It forms space. It is not a fading fashion, it is timeless.

With great care, Hiroshi Takata chose the name 'Lemnos' for his company and brand: the Greek island of Lemnos in ancient mythology is home to the god Hephaestus, the god of all craftsmen.

History of Lemnos Inc.

TAKATA Lemnos Inc. was founded in 1947 as a brass casting manufacturing company in Takaoka-city, Toyama Prefecture, Japan. Seeing the precision of their craftsmanship, Lemnos Inc. was approached by the Seiko Clock Co. to strike a partnership and they soon launched into full-scale manufacture of clocks. 

In recent years, Lemnos has given high priority to develop their interior accessories making full use of traditional techniques by the founding manufacturer.

Today the Lemnos™ brand and it's products are highly praised in design shops and interior decorating shops all over the world. They will continue to innovate ahead of the trends.

Pictures taken from the Lemnos factory in Japan: (clockwise from top left) an artist paints the numbers onto a clock face; wooden clock parts after precision machining; clock frames stacked to dry; clocks awaiting testing and quality control. 

From Lemnos Inc. to Apple Inc.

Lemnos first made impressions globally with the release of the 'HOLA' clock in 1988. It's creator, the legendary Kazuo Kawasaki, was also the design director at Apple in the late 1980s and, in the decades since, has been honoured with awards of high critical acclaim with his works displayed in MoMA and the Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum, among others. The clock circular face is the picture of simplicity and sits within a sleek square frame, made from ABS plastic and contoured glass. Indeed, the 'HOLA' clock itself has many of it's own accolades including Japan's illustrious Good Design Award and it continues to be shown in the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art in Japan.

Lemnos Cuckoo Clocks

Lemnos cuckoo clocks - both the 'Cucu' and the 'Pace' - are finely honed and carefully crafted in Japan. The artisans' skilful techniques bring out the beauty of the materials and create fine, timeless products as intended by their designers.