The Albatross is a 1,520-piece airship clock that’ll set you back a cool £107,000

Yes, we know what you’re thinking: “What in the Terminator’s hot airship is that?” Well, it’s called the ‘Albatross’, and it's supposed to be a modern reincarnation of the airship of the same name from Jules Verne’s novel, Robur the Conqueror. Only this thing doesn’t fly, it sits and… tells the time.

It’s the 15th collaborative project between L’Epee 1839 and MB&F, comprising a mammoth 1,520 individual components and measuring in at 60cm in length, 60cm in height and 35cm in width. It also weighs just 17kg too, so it’d probably have the legs on the real Albatross in a quarter-mile sprint.

There’s a total of 32 propellers fixed on, which apparently spin for seven seconds each time the clock - which is nestled somewhere in the middle of all that metal - hits the hour-mark. 

Ready for a science lesson on how it works? The inner mechanicals consist of two winding systems: one to power the time and the other to drive the striking hour. There are also three barrels inside to provide energy to various sections of the Albatross - which is claimed to be the first-ever clock to have a propeller hour. There’s your icebreaker for awkward conversations at home, then.

It was no simple feat to achieve either, as L’Epee CEO Arnaud Nicolas explains: “We had to make several attempts to find the correct power and speed for the propellers as our initial experiments caused chaos in the workshop. It was like a helicopter ready for take-off!”  

Final details include a tiny cockpit with a dashboard and wheel, while the clock itself has been constructed using a combination of aluminium, brass and steel. And don’t worry, fail-safe measures have been factored in too, before you wonder about potential risks.

A choice of five colour choices can be had in total and will be limited to eight pieces per finish. According to Top Gear arithmetic, that means a total of just 40 will ever be built, with prices starting at £107,000 (plus VAT) per unit. You may be able to get yourself an actual hot airship for that, mind.