As designers, we fill our rooms with objects that meet our design standards, formally or functionally, but we typically ignore the design of the first thing we see when we wake up: our alarm clock.

Before the age of LCDs and LEDs, nixie tubes were the preferred way of electronically displaying numbers. Made of a long, glass cylinder that resembles an ancient light bulb, each tube contains ten separate filaments stacked on top of each other. The filaments light up independently to display Arabic numerals. From their creation in 1952 until they were deemed too unreliable and expensive in the 1970s, nixie tubes could be found emanating out of everything from the first computers to pinball machines.

In recent years, a nostalgic appreciation for the unique design offered by a nixie tube has led to a revival of the vintage technology. The German-based Nixieclock.com re-released the Nixie Tube Clock, an alarm clock made of six clear glass tubes that display the date and the time in hours, minutes, and seconds.

The horizontally aligned tubes are set into a base of cherry wood. The numerals are set in a spirited and refined typeface, similar to a Light Futura. A gas mixture fills the tubes, and the filaments glow with a warm, orange light. The clear glass allows a view of the technical inner workings, a kind of glimpse into a past era. As essential as a Nelson wall clock is to your living room’s décor, the Nixie Tube Clock is the finishing touch to your bedroom’s modern design experience. Still, some of us can’t live without the snooze button.

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Christina Beard is a graphic designer, writer, and sailing enthusiast. She is currently exploring the role of digital media in wayfinding and defining strategies to create better experiences. She holds an MFA in graphic design from MICA.