This imposing clock might be considered one of Knox's most inspired designs. On the one hand its dramatic silhouette echoes the ancient Celtic crosses that populate his native Isle of Man, and on the other its surface decoration captures the "less is more" quality that is the very essence of modernity. For these reasons, the 'Great' Cross Clock is aptly representative of Knox's design genius but it is also an example of his 'symbolic' vision as well. The numerals represent the passage of 'real time' and are balanced by the twelve abalone plaques, a 'living material', that ascend the clock's front. These plaques clearly suggest another kind of time of which Knox was aware, a time that has neither beginning nor end, but is an ever-living testimony to the mystery of his Anglo-Catholic faith.

Another example of this design was sold at Christie's New York on 11 June 1999, lot 374.

Cf. "The 'Great' Clocks of Archibald Knox: from the Celtic to the Modern", by Martin, S., in Archibald Knox, (ed) Martin, S., London: ArtMedia Press, 2001, pp. 70-75. See pages 75 and 235 for illustrations of this design.

Cf. "Great Clocks by Archibald Knox", by Martin, S. in Style 1900, Volume 13, Number 3, Spring/Summer 2000, pp. 24-37.