Metamec: The Story of Britain's Greatest Clock Maker

If you have ever admired a sunburst wall clock with radiating brass spokes and a clean mid-century dial, there is a good chance it was made by Metamec. For three decades, this small factory in the Norfolk market town of Dereham produced some of the most distinctive and collectable clocks ever made in Britain — pieces that defined the look of aspirational British interiors from the 1950s right through to the 1980s.

This is their story.

Dereham, Norfolk: An Unlikely Capital of British Clockmaking

Metamec was founded in Dereham in 1947, in the years immediately after the Second World War. Britain was rebuilding, and there was enormous appetite for modern, affordable home furnishings that reflected a new optimism. Metamec's founders recognised that the British home was ready for something bold — and they delivered.

At their peak, the Dereham factory employed around 750 people and produced an extraordinary 350 different clock models. For a market town of modest size in rural Norfolk, this was a remarkable industrial achievement. Metamec became one of the largest employers in the area, and their clocks found their way into homes across the United Kingdom and beyond.

The factory's output was diverse — mantel clocks, carriage clocks, alarm clocks, and kitchen clocks all emerged from Dereham — but it is the wall clocks, and particularly the sunburst and starburst designs, for which Metamec is best remembered and most sought after today.

The Sunburst Clocks: Icons of Mid-Century Modern British Design

The sunburst wall clock is Metamec's greatest legacy. Inspired by the atomic age aesthetic that swept through design in the 1950s — an era fascinated by space, science, and the optimistic geometry of the future — Metamec's designers created a series of radiating wall clocks that captured the spirit of their time perfectly.

The formula was elegantly simple: a central clock face surrounded by radiating spokes in alternating materials — brass and teak, chrome and walnut, gold and rosewood. The effect was simultaneously bold and sophisticated, a piece of wall art that also told the time. These were not cheap novelties. Metamec sunburst clocks were considered premium purchases, displayed proudly in living rooms and hallways by families who wanted their homes to reflect modern taste.

The range was vast. Models varied in diameter from modest 35cm pieces to commanding 60cm statement clocks. Finishes ranged from warm brass and teak combinations to cool chrome and walnut, to the rarer nickel and rosewood variants that collectors prize most highly today. Each model had its own number — the 5629, the 5892, the 5867 among the most celebrated — and each has its own community of admirers.

The quality of materials was consistent throughout. Teak rays were solid, not veneer. Brass spokes were properly finished. Dials were printed with care. This commitment to quality is precisely why so many Metamec clocks have survived in excellent condition more than half a century later.

The Move to Quartz

Like every mechanical clock manufacturer, Metamec faced a fundamental challenge in the 1970s: the arrival of cheap, accurate quartz movements from Japan. The mechanical movements that had powered their clocks since the 1940s were suddenly obsolete — quartz was more accurate, more reliable, and far cheaper to produce.

Metamec adapted. From the mid-1970s onwards, their clocks were fitted with quartz battery movements, and the Quartzmatic name appeared on dials of this era. This transition actually extended the life of many of their most popular designs — the same sunburst frames that had housed mechanical movements were now fitted with quartz, and production continued through the late 1970s and into the 1980s.

For collectors today, the quartz-era clocks are no less desirable than their mechanical predecessors. The frames and dials are identical, and a new quartz movement — fitted by a competent restorer — gives these clocks another generation of reliable, silent service.

The End of an Era: 1984

In 1984, Metamec went into receivership. The combination of cheap imported clocks, changing tastes, and the economic pressures of the early 1980s proved insurmountable. The Dereham factory closed, and Britain's most prolific clock manufacturer came to an end after nearly four decades of production.

It was the close of a chapter not just for Metamec but for British domestic manufacturing more broadly. The clocks that had filled the factory's showrooms and catalogues were now simply part of the existing stock in homes across the country — and, eventually, in the antique shops, car boot sales, and auction houses where collectors would come to find them.

Metamec Today: Why Collectors Love Them

Four decades after the factory closed, demand for Metamec clocks has never been stronger. A new generation of buyers, drawn to mid-century modern interiors and the authenticity of genuine vintage pieces, has discovered what their parents and grandparents always knew: that a Metamec sunburst on the wall is one of the finest things British design ever produced.

The most sought-after models are the large 60cm sunburst clocks — the 5629 in silver face with baton markers, the 5892 in teak and nickel, the brass and rosewood variants that appear rarely and sell quickly when they do. Smaller models like the zodiac-dial 5867 and the sunflower designs attract devoted followings of their own.

Condition matters, but Metamec clocks were well made and many have survived in remarkable shape. Original movements can often be serviced; where they cannot, a new quartz movement restores full functionality without compromising the clock's appearance or value.

At RetroTime, we specialise in sourcing, restoring and selling genuine Metamec clocks — each one individually assessed, honestly described, and where necessary professionally restored to working order. Every clock we sell comes with a new quartz movement fitted as standard, ready to hang and ready to run.

Browse Our Metamec Collection

We regularly stock a range of Metamec wall clocks across different models, sizes and finishes. Stock changes frequently — these are one-of-a-kind vintage pieces and once they're gone, they're gone.

View our full clock collection at RetroTime →

If you are looking for a specific model or finish and don't see it listed, get in touch — we are always sourcing new stock and are happy to let you know when something matching your requirements comes in.

RetroTime specialises in genuine vintage British homewares — wall clocks, textile wall art and lighting from the mid-century modern era. Based in Chelmsford, Essex. Free tracked delivery across the UK.