It is difficult to trace the origin of the The Maltese Clock, however, tradition has it that they adorned houses of the Maltese nobility as far back as the 17th century.
 
The clock was made of wood suitable to take on several layers of gypsum, which was then engraved and decorated with gold. The case had two doors. The inside door incorporated the hand painted dial to which a hand made clock mechanism by Maltese Clock Master Makers was fixed from behind. Further down in the clock face the moving pendulum could be seen through a decorated aperture. On the front there was another door, which was framed with glass to protect the dial and ornate hands. The clock case was then painted and abundantly decorated with flowers typical of the colourful finish for which the clock is renowned.
 
These clocks were made either as wall hanging or table clocks. The former were, however, the most popular. Today, the Original Maltese clocks are collectors items and very hard to find for acquisition as they fetch very high prices running into thousands of Euros.
 
However,  the  tradition goes on with the reproduction of these clocks.