Just like wristwatches in an age when everybody has a mobile phone, hourglasses today are exclusively used for decorative purposes. There’s something romantic about seeing sand crumbling piece by piece, just like the fleeting moments the hourglass keeps track off. Danielle Trofe, a designer from Brooklyn, NY, once again infused the iconic hourglass with a practical motif by fitting it with LED lights.

The hourglass has a slick design, and is made out of sustainable wood and recycle glass. To power the LED lights, the hourglass is fitted with a generator that transforms the kinetic energy from the falling sand into electricity. The lamp comes in two versions:  a four-foot-tall lean floor hourglass with hinges to easily flip it over and a smaller tabletop version, with slight adjustments to accommodate lighting differences.

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The design stimulate’s the user’s awareness as to the finite nature of energy, and hopefully makes people value it more. The added benefit is that the lamp turns itself off once you leave the room.

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