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Karlsson Big Flip calendar clock front view, analogue face above flip day and date cards
Karlsson Big Flip calendar clock angled view showing case depth and flip calendar cards
Karlsson flip calendar clock with analogue face showing day, date and month
Close detail of the Karlsson flip calendar cards showing day, date and month
Karlsson Big Flip calendar clock in black, 43cm square retro station style wall clock
Karlsson Big Flip calendar clock in black, 43cm, showing day, date, month and year cards
Karlsson Big Flip calendar clock in black, detail of the flip calendar beneath the clock face
Karlsson Big Flip calendar clock in black, 43cm wall or freestanding clock with flip calendar
Karlsson Big Flip calendar clock in silver, 43cm, analogue face with flip day and date display
Karlsson Big Flip calendar clock in silver, 43cm square wall clock with flip calendar cards
Karlsson Big Flip calendar clock in white, 43cm, analogue face with flip calendar beneath
Karlsson Big Flip calendar clock in white, 43cm wall hung or freestanding calendar clock

Big Flip & Mini Flip Calendar Clock by Karlsson – 43cm or 24.5cm

Karlsson
Colour:
Size:
Online only - please allow up to 10 working days for delivery
Sale price$999.00
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Ask anyone who remembers a railway departures board what it sounded like, and they will describe this clock. The Karlsson Big Flip has been in production long enough to have become a design classic in its own right, and it works differently from most things sold as a flip clock. The time is read from a clean analogue face. Beneath it, a bank of printed cards turns over to show the day, the date and the month. It is a clock and a calendar in one object, and it is the calendar that flips.

That distinction matters, so it is worth saying plainly before anything else.

Does the time flip, or just the calendar?
Just the calendar. The hours and minutes are shown by hands on an analogue quartz face. The split-flap cards below show the day of the week with an AM and PM indicator, the date and the month. The year sits on its own card, which you change by hand once a year using the number cards included in the box. If you are after flipping digits for the time itself, this is not that clock, and it is better to know now than when it arrives.

Big or Mini

The two sizes are not simply the same clock scaled up and down. They are different pieces with different jobs, and they take different batteries.

The Big Flip is 43cm square and 16cm deep. It is a genuine architectural object, closer in presence to a piece of wall art than to a timepiece, and it holds its own above a sideboard, in a stairwell, or on a long empty wall in a home office. It runs on 2 x D batteries for the flip mechanism and 1 x AA for the clock.

The Mini Flip is 24.5cm square and 10cm deep. It carries the same retro character at a scale that suits a bookshelf, a desk or a kitchen bench without dominating. It runs on 5 x AA batteries.

Colour availability differs by size. The Big Flip comes in Silver, White and Black. The Mini Flip comes in Silver, White and Wood. There is no Black Mini and no Wood Big.

Which batteries do I actually need?
The 43cm Big Flip takes 2 x D and 1 x AA. The 24.5cm Mini Flip takes 5 x AA. Neither includes batteries. We suggest Energizer Lithium cells for all Karlsson clocks, since the flip mechanism draws more current than a standard quartz movement and alkalines will not last as long.

Wall hung or standing

Both sizes can be wall mounted using the hanging notch on the back, or set down on a flat surface. The Big Flip has stability feet built into the case, so a sideboard, a mantel or a wide floating shelf all work without any fixings at all. If you are hanging it, both sizes are light enough for a single well-anchored hook into a stud, or a standard plasterboard fixing. You can browse the rest of our wall clocks and table clocks if you are still deciding on scale.

Is it noisy?
It is not silent, and we would rather you heard that from us. The cards turn over around midnight with an audible flip, and there is a short stand-by click roughly half an hour beforehand. In a living room, hallway or office this reads as character. Karlsson's own instructions suggest keeping it out of bedrooms for that reason. If you want the same wall presence with none of the sound, the Moon Wall Clock by Karlsson is a 60cm silent sweep alternative, and the New Classic is a quieter, simpler option at a lower price.

Karlsson has been designing clocks from the Netherlands since 1980, and the Big Flip is one of the pieces the house is best known for. The whole range sits in our Karlsson collection.

Why You'll Love It

  • A genuine design classic, not a reproduction of one
  • Analogue face and automatic flip calendar in a single object, so a wall or a desk gives you the time, day, date and month at a glance
  • Wall hung or freestanding, with no fixings needed if you would rather stand it
  • Two scales, from a shelf-sized 24.5cm to a properly architectural 43cm
  • Backed by a two-year Karlsson warranty through New Zealand dealers

Product Details

Big Flip

  • Dimensions: 43cm wide x 43cm high x 16cm deep
  • Batteries: 2 x D and 1 x AA, not included
  • Colours: Silver, White, Black

Mini Flip

  • Dimensions: 24.5cm wide x 24.5cm high x 10cm deep
  • Batteries: 5 x AA, not included
  • Colours: Silver, White, Wood

Both sizes

  • Analogue quartz movement with automatic flip calendar
  • Displays day of week with AM and PM indicator, date and month; year card changed manually, number cards included
  • PVC housing with acrylic cover
  • Wall hung or freestanding on a flat surface
  • Two-year Karlsson warranty through New Zealand dealers
  • Designed by Karlsson, Netherlands

Important: Karlsson recommends Energizer Lithium batteries for all Karlsson clocks and battery-operated items. Batteries are not included.

Where It Lives Best

The Big Flip needs air around it. Give it a clear stretch of wall rather than tucking it into a gallery arrangement, and hang it slightly higher than you think, around 160cm to the centre, so the calendar cards sit in the natural eyeline. Above a low sideboard it works beautifully, with the depth of the case reading as shadow rather than bulk.

In a home office it earns its keep twice over, since the date display saves the small daily glance at a phone. Pair it with warm timber, a linen-textured wall and one restrained ceramic piece, and let the clock be the only graphic element in the room. The Silver reads industrial and slightly technical, the White disappears into a pale wall and lets the black numerals do the work, and the Black is the most graphic of the three against oak or off-white.

The Mini Flip is the shelf version of the same idea. It sits well on a stack of books, on a kitchen bench near the kettle, or on a desk beside a lamp. The Wood finish is the softest of the range and the one that suits a coastal or Japandi palette most naturally. Browse more pieces for the desk in our office edit.

Gifting Tips

This is a milestone gift rather than a stocking filler, and it suits the person who is difficult to buy for precisely because they already own everything practical. It lands well for a fiftieth, a retirement, a new home or a first proper office. Architects, graphic designers, engineers and anyone with a mid-century leaning tend to recognise it on sight.

For Father's Day the Big Flip is the statement version and the Mini Flip in Wood is the more approachable one. If you are gifting it, buy the batteries at the same time. Nothing deflates a gift like a beautiful clock that cannot be switched on until someone finds a D cell.

What it comes down to

The Karlsson Big Flip is a 43cm square wall clock with an analogue face and an automatic split-flap calendar showing the day, date and month. A 24.5cm Mini Flip version offers the same design at shelf scale. The Big Flip takes 2 x D and 1 x AA batteries, the Mini Flip takes 5 x AA, and neither includes them. Both can be wall hung or stood on a flat surface, both carry a two-year Karlsson warranty, and both flip audibly around midnight, which makes them better suited to living spaces and offices than bedrooms.
Karlsson Big Flip calendar clock front view, analogue face above flip day and date cards
Big Flip & Mini Flip Calendar Clock by Karlsson – 43cm or 24.5cm Sale price$999.00

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