Pendulum Clock model "Sessa"
Manufactured by Lemnos
Japan, 1980s
Glass, Aluminum, Lacquered metal
Measurements
16 x 7 x 35h cm
6,3 x 2,8 x 13,8h in
Provenance
Private collection, Japan
About
Designed by Takashi Kato for Lemnos in the late 1980s, the Sessa Pendulum Clock exemplifies the refined minimalism and technological optimism characteristic of Japanese design during this era. With a softly curved glass façade, brushed aluminum pendulum, and floating teal faceplate, the clock evokes a sense of lightness and quiet precision.
Its aerodynamic hands and reduced markers emphasize functionality while also nodding to a futuristic aesthetic. The delicate balance between materials—transparent glass, matte metal, and vibrant lacquer—creates an object that feels both sculptural and serene. A true hybrid of industrial engineering and poetic form, Sessa embodies Japan’s dialogue between tradition and modernity at the close of the 20th century.
Biography
Takashi Kato (b.1950s) is a Japanese industrial designer whose work is emblematic of the country’s late 20th-century synthesis of minimalism, material refinement, and technical precision. Best known for his collaborations with the esteemed manufacturer Lemnos, Kato emerged in the 1980s as part of a generation of Japanese designers committed to reimagining domestic objects as meditative, sculptural forms.
Trained in product and industrial design—though specific records of his early education remain limited—Kato developed his practice in parallel to contemporaries such as Kazuo Kawasaki, Toshiyuki Kita, and Naoto Fukasawa, whose work collectively shaped the visual and conceptual identity of Japanese design on the global stage. Kato's designs for clocks, and in particular his Sessa Pendulum Clock, became emblematic of a new domestic aesthetic that valued quiet technological sophistication over expressive form.
Kato’s Sessa Pendulum Clock (c. 1980s), produced by Lemnos, is a defining piece in his oeuvre. Combining curved glass, precision-machined aluminum, and subtly pigmented dials, the clock reflects a distinctive Japanese approach to timekeeping—tactile, poetic, and highly resolved. It bridges influences from Shiro Kuramata’s transparency and immateriality with the mechanical purity of Issey Miyake’s technological collaborations.
Lemnos, a design-forward clock manufacturer originally established as a metalworking company in Takaoka, Toyama, became a platform for Kato to experiment with form, rhythm, and the emotional resonance of timepieces. His partnership with the brand paralleled their collaborations with designers such as Riki Watanabe and Kanae Tsukamoto, placing him within a lineage of modernist but emotionally attuned Japanese makers.
