Ikepod's Hourglass by Marc Newson - Controlled ChaosLet's begin this post by letting you know, right from the start, that this hourglass costs $28,500.

Now, as you continue to read, you will notice how that number becomes more and more rational in your mind. Finally, after seeing the short video we filmed at Basel World over the weekend, our guess is you will have not only rationalized the price to yourself, but may have even begun to think about where in your house you will put it.

The Hourglass by Marc Newson for Ikepod is indeed simply an hourglass. But it is also one of the most beautiful sculptures we've ever seen, and one of, if not the single most stunning item we saw at Basel World 2011.

Each hourglass is hand blown from one single piece of borosilicate glass in Basel, of all places. Filling each piece is not sand, but rather a incredible amount of tiny nanoballs each coated in different material. To be more specific, each hourglass contains 8 million nanoballs. When the glass is turned from one side to the other, the nanoballs fall to the ground and create total chaos in the bottom chamber of the hourglass. These balls jump and fly around in a frenzied way, but within the most serene of Newson designs, you hardly notice.