Clock Tattoo Meaning
A clock is one of the most personal tattoos there is. It can mark one exact minute that changed a life, or remind the wearer that every minute is limited.
The passing of time
A clock stands for time itself — how fast it goes and how little of it there is. Next to a skull or a rose it becomes memento mori, a reminder to live fully and not to waste the hours.
A frozen hour
Many people set the hands of the clock to a specific time: the minute a child was born, the hour a loved one died, the moment of a wedding or of getting sober. The tattoo keeps that time still forever.
Clocks without hands and melting clocks
A clock without hands stands for timelessness, or for a life lived without counting the hours. A melting clock comes from Salvador Dalí's painting The Persistence of Memory (1931) and stands for the strange, flexible nature of time and memory — a favorite subject of surrealist tattoos.
The pocket watch
An old pocket watch is often a symbol of family and inheritance — the watch passed from a grandfather to a father to a son. It also brings a classic, antique look that suits realism.
Clocks in black and grey realism
Glass reflections, engraved metal, Roman numerals and fine gears are made for black and grey. Clocks are often combined with portraits, roses, skulls, angels or architecture on the forearm, the upper arm, the chest or the thigh.
Clock Tattoo Questions
What does a clock tattoo symbolize?
The passing of time and the shortness of life, or one exact moment the wearer wants to keep forever.
What does the time on a clock tattoo mean?
Usually a personal moment — a birth, a death, a wedding or another turning point.
What does a clock without hands mean?
Timelessness, or living without counting the hours.