I have an old Unicorn Clock on the desk behind my laptop. It no longer has a key.

This clock belonged to my parents, and was always on display. When it was wound up, and worked, it chimed a lot. But, I don’t remember hearing it too much, and that was possibly because it chimed a lot and annoyed the crappers out of everyone.

It’s quite a loud chime.

I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s as loud as a church clock, or a town hall clock, but it’s certainly loud enough to be heard through a reasonably sized modern Australian house with no problems whatsoever.

I know this, rather than remember it, because I just picked it up and turned it over to see if there was anything on it other than just the word, “Unicorn”. When I did this, it chimed at me, possibly because it didn’t like being turned upside down, or possibly because I disturbed something of its inner workings. As I’m rather logical, most of the time, I’m going to put it down to the latter.

I found one on the web that looked very similar, if slightly lighter in colour, and that one had a plaque on it. This one does not. What it does have, is handwritten numbers underneath that may mean something, or not much at all, and if it means something more personal, then that meaning has been lost to time, quite literally.

I can safely say it’s not worth much, money-wise, nor is it particularly attractive. The only people it has meaning to, are my immediate family, my siblings, and myself. It’s just an old clock, with no key, that I keep on my desk.