India Overseas Trading Corp Solid Brass 4.5" Sundial Compass

A fun little toy. It works. The box it comes in is kind of trashy so if you're getting this as an office gift, think of getting a better box. No directions included, but here's what I found out on line. Both the center sundial pointer and the little arc piece on the side with numbers on it are hinged and lift up. Once these are both up, you can then lift up the outer ring, also hinged, and line it up with the arc piece on the side to your geographical latitude. Eg. the latitude of Rochester, NY is about 43 degrees, so I lift up the outer ring until it lines up between the 42 and 44 degree mark on the arc piece. You can google your city to find your latitude. There is a switch on the side to release the compass needle. You want that sundial pointer piece to be exactly north (which is why you need the compass.) Align the pointer piece with the compass needle facing north. For best accuracy the whole thing needs to be set on a flat level surface. The 3 screw thingies along the outer edges help level the device on uneven surfaces. The sundial pointer piece will cast a shadow on the outer ring which has marks for the time of day in Roman numerals, and hash marks between for approximate half and quarter hours. The shadow is not that easy to see. It took us a few minutes to find it because the brass is reflective and the shadow doesn't stand out obviously. We tested ours out at 11:45 am and came up with a time of about 11:30 on the sundial. So not perfect, but definitely within the ball park. The Sundial compass says "West London" on it. The inside and outer parts are brass, but nothing included that gives specifics about the metal. The compass needle is not all blue as pictured, just the tip that points north. Overall it's simple and pretty, but not overly ornate. We got the 5 inch size (because we are old and wear glasses) from RedSky Trader and delivery was just as fast as Amazon Prime. Though we did pay for shipping, total cost was $27.33 on 7/21/14 for 5 inch size, and the semi-trashy box was included.

This is a beautiful dial. Larger than expected (its the same size as the palm of my hand). The blem the box was coming up when I got it, but a little glue fixed that. The box is cheap but just point noon to north.The sundial works great. Lift the arm and tilt to your latitude. Lift up the gnome and activate the compas (there is a little lever that you slide on the side to free the compas dial) and jusy. This also has 3 adjustable legs to make sure its properly level.BUT this is not self leveling! To get the most accurate time you have to make sure the device is leveled and I see no bubble to be able to do this correctly.So I give it 3 stars. It works great but you need a leveler to get the most accurate time. You can look at the comp as dial to see if its balancing level. Without a bubble, this is your best option.There are no instructions. But if you are buying something like this than you probably have a working knowledge of sundials and can figure it out.

This was a very cool gift for one of my readers at my wedding. It was unique and he really liked it. The brass was very nice and polished, however, I was slightly disappointed with how well the compass worked. It was very weak and took a very long time to settle on North. If I actually thought he might use it in the wilderness then it would be more of a problem, but since it is really just for decoration, it wasn't that big of a deal. The only other thing that bothered me was that the velvet lining of the case was extremely worn and spotty. But again, not a deal breaker. Overall, I was very pleased with the purchase and the price.

This is not quite usable as-is as a real sundial! The markings around the circle are useless which you need to read the solar time. The markings on the tilt arm are useless which needs to be set to your latitude. The gnomon is useless so I left it in the down position and replaced it with a thin brass rod inserted into a hole I drilled. Then I took pains to adjust the tilt (it does tilt at least) to 40 degrees (where I live) using an external device then I bought a cheap protractor and mounted it to the center and was able to use that after aligning it to north using a GPS (not the compass) to get accurate readings within two or three minutes but its no credit to the design of this thing which is pretty but not accurate. Cannot be used between the Autumn and Spring equinox as is the case with any sundial of this design because the sun shines on the under side of the dial where you cant see the shadow. The box is came in is very beautiful and well made. Im still glad I bought it because I learned a lot about what a real sundial should do!

Item looks great, quality of box is also exceptional. Decent price for item but let me reverberate this from the temples of the highest peaks in Nepal... This compass is NOT functional, no matter the calibration and your skills, at least the one I got wasn't. I was excited to get a functional item for decoration AND use but this isn't one of those. Even though two answers say it is functional its actually not and although its solid brass and is constructed well, this one apparently made it by quality control because the compass does not work under ANY conditions... "echoes off the highest peaks into the rolling valleys and into the caverns below".For decoration only its lovely though.Be ye warned...

My husband was in the US Navy when he was younger. He was very excited when opening it. Wooden box it comes in is gorgeous too.

returned first one. Top of box warped so bad would not close. compass is beautiful. Price is very reasonable. I might add I was very impressed over all except that the boxed was warped. Nice box ! I have ordered another will see...... No need to update the second one is ok.

A pretty well made little compass/sextant/sundial. It's heavy and durable construction made me feel as though this is a collector item I might have for a while and should I ever be without GPS could easily depend upon this tool to navigate in a pinch. The wood box was also nice and solid. Overall a quality piece.

This is actually a nice decorative item. Looks more expensive than it is and well made from solid brass plus it was the same price as some of the 3 inch versions. I haven't got a clue how it works but it looks good on display.

A good and unusual Christmas gift very pleased with the quality

Die Sonnenuhr ist hübsch. Leider fehlt bei der Lieferung die Hartholzschachtel und eine Betriebsanleitung . Die Verpackung war mangelhaft. Ich würde den Artikel nicht wieder bestellen.

Ho acquistato questa bussola per fare un regalo ad un amico. oggetto imballato nei minimi particolari, il mio amico è rimasto esterefatto...

Sehr dekorativ!Genau wie beschrieben!