Alarm Clocks

Choosing an alarm clock for your bedside table

We would start with where it will sit. An alarm clock usually lives on a bedside table, so measure the space left once your lamp, a glass of water and your phone are in place. A bedside clock you can read from the pillow, without hunting for your glasses, is the one you will be glad of at six in the morning.

Then match it to the room. A clock that picks up the colour of your lamp or bedside table looks settled, while one in a contrasting shade becomes a small feature. If it is a present, think about how the person wakes: a clock that lights up suits a night-time clock watcher, and a snooze button suits anyone who likes a few more minutes in bed.

Quartz movements and setting the alarm

A quartz clock keeps time with a tiny sliver of quartz crystal. A small current, usually from a battery, makes the crystal vibrate at a steady, very fast rate, and a little circuit counts the vibrations and turns them into regular pulses that move the hands. Some of our alarm clocks run on quartz movements, a simple and dependable way to keep time.

Some of ours have analogue dials. On an analogue alarm clock the alarm usually has its own small hand, set with a knob on the back, and a switch that turns it on and off. Point the alarm hand at the time you want to wake, switch the alarm on, and try it on a weekend morning before trusting it with an early start.

Sweep second hands and the snooze button

On some of our alarm clocks the second hand sweeps. Instead of stepping forward once a second, it glides smoothly round the dial, which is easy on the eye when you glance across from bed.

Some of ours have a snooze button. Press it when the alarm sounds and you get a few more minutes before it goes off again, so you can wake in stages. If you know you will press it more than once, set the alarm a little earlier and let the snooze take up the slack.

Seeing the time at night

Waking in the night with no idea of the time is a familiar annoyance. Some of our alarm clocks light up, which saves picking up your phone or switching on a lamp and disturbing whoever is beside you. If you are a light sleeper, angle the clock slightly away from the pillow so any glow stays out of your eyes but the time is easy to find when you look.

Plastic and metal cases

A plastic case is light, easy to move from room to room and simple to wipe clean, and some of our alarm clocks have one. Metal gives a clock a little more weight in the hand and a crisper look, and you will also find metal among ours.

Some are black and some are white, a few come in silver, and a few have a matt finish that keeps the look understated. Black and white are the easiest to place in a bedroom, while silver catches the light and works well with chrome, glass or mirrored furniture.

Batteries, dusting and the clock change

Some of ours take AA batteries. If yours runs on a battery, keep a spare in the bedside drawer, and fit a fresh one when the clock starts to lose time or the alarm sounds weaker than it did. If the clock is going into a cupboard for a while, take the battery out so it does not leak.

Dust with a soft, dry cloth, and for marks use one barely damp with water, then dry the case straight away. Keep sprays and polish off the clock, and stand it out of strong sun and away from radiators. If yours does not set itself, remember it when the clocks go forward in late March and back in late October.