Stone Sundials

All Brass Bronze Copper Slate Stainless Steel Stone

Embellish your home or garden with a handcrafted stone sundial. The tactility of stone combined with the artistry of personalised inscriptions makes for unique garden decor. Historic in function but made for contemporary styles, our stone designs offer a luxury alternative to antique sundials.

A close-up of a bronze armillary sphere sundial shows engraved Latin text and the phrase Time brings truth to light. Sunlight highlights the aged verdigris patina, while blurred green foliage forms the background.

Personalised Inscriptions

Whether you’re buying a classic piece or commissioning a bespoke one, your David Harber will be unique to you. If you would like to add a personalised inscription, we will work closely with you to make sure you get exactly what you want.

A serene outdoor pool with clear blue water is surrounded by beige walls, plants, and palm trees. At one end, a mosaic sundial accentuates the fountain’s blue arch, while sunlight reflects on the water under a clear sky.

Vertical Dial

Quietly marking the passing of time, a Vertical Dial offers dynamism and narrative to any space.

FAQ

Unlike our armillary sundial and aged brass sundial that take the form of metal orbs, stone sundials usually take the form of verdical or horizontal dials: decorative garden ornaments that introduce a sense of maturity and creative flair to the spaces they inhabit. Metal sundials are often positioned on stone pedestals or plinths to create a focal point in the garden, the mixed materials creating a layered effect that suits all garden types from patios to sweeping landscapes.

The accuracy of a sundial relies on craftsmanship, placement and daylight hours. To function as a working timepiece, sundials need to be made bespoke to the exact longitude and latitude of the place they’re intended for and this needs to be a sunny site, as a sundial needs direct sunlight to cast a clear shadow. It’s a natural device that depends on the sun’s presence; no sun, no shadow, no time! When you’re thinking about your landscaping and where to put a sundial, choose the sunniest spot.

The sundial’s gnomon – a rod or edge – casts a shadow onto a dial marked with hour lines. These lines mark solar time rather than mean time (clock time), and this varies slightly over the year. As the sun moves, the shadow sweeps across these markings. The angle of the gnomon, set to match your sundial’s geographical latitude and longitude, helps ensure the shadow hits the right hour lines throughout the day. Our guide on how to read sundials can tell you more.