About clock No. 4

In 1966, mechanical genius and self-taught clockmaker Rasmus Sørnes from Norway completed his fourth and final astronomical clock after eight years of work. The word "clock" is somewhat misleading, it would be more accurate to describe it as "a mechanical real-time model of the solar system", as it shows not only the current time but also:

Sidereal time
Moon phase
Sunrise and sunset at a certain latitude
High and low tide
Celestial globe
Julian day number
Sunspot cycle
Gregorian calendar
Solar and lunar eclipse prediction
Orrery (planetarium)
25,800 year precession of the equinoxes
and more

In addition to this, the clock can be run forward and backward at high speed to predict solar and lunar eclipses and to show all the other data above at a particular point in time.

Where is it now?

While the three earlier clocks are still at known locations in Norway, the current whereabouts of clock No. 4 are unknown. It was sold by Rasmus Sørnes' family to the Time Museum in Rockford, USA, in the 1970s. The museum closed in 1999, and the clock was on display for several years in Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry, but in 2002 it was sold by Sotheby's to an unknown buyer.

The purpose of this website is to try to get in touch with the owner, but also to collect and present comprehensive and accurate information about Sørnes' four clocks.

If you have any information about the missing clock No. 4 (or any of the three other clocks), or notice any errors on this website, please do not hesitate to contact us.