New sundial for historic garden in Switzerland

Orbdial sundial on marble pedestal

Orbdial is a universal type of sundial that can be set for different latitudes.

In a land renowned for its clocks and watches a Swiss couple have chosen our Orbdial sundial to mark the hours in their historic garden set on a hill above Montreux, overlooking Lac Leman, which they are restoring to former glories. The sundial has a handsome polished pedestal in pink and yellow veined marble from Verona. The couple wanted to see the colours of sunrise and sunset in the sky picked up by the sundial and the stone. In Victorian times this house welcomed figures from music and the arts, including Gertrude Jekyll the influential garden designer. Its present owners are re-creating as much as possible of the original planting.

Orbdial is a design well suited to this garden and its owners. The meridian ring carries the horizontal dial in such a way that it is tilted to the latitude of Switzerland, some ten degrees further south than Scotland. The equinoctial ring casts an exact shadow across the dial in spring and autumn. The owners desired a shiny reflective piece like Orbdial and they have their own text inscribed on the gnomon.

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