101 Best Broken Clock Tattoo Ideas You’ll Have To See To Believe!

by Jamie Wilson
Clock Tattoos

Reviewed & updated: December 8, 2022 by Jamie Wilson BA

Are you looking for an amazing broken clock tattoo? Then here we have brought you a list of best broken clock tattoos that you will love.

Broken Clock
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Broken clock tattoos are one of the most popular tattoos around the world.

Broken clock tattoos usually represent many things. However, mostly they are seen as a symbol of freedom from the shackles of rigid time schedules.

Clock tattoos mainly signify that you wish to seize and live every moment. Now, if we think about what does a broken clock tattoo mean, then other than freedom, they also mean moving on from a past that haunts you or the moment of birth or death of a person can be indicated with the time shown on the clock. The sheer nature of broken clocks can mean different things as well. A clock tattoo with no hands mean disregard for a passage of time or losing track of time. The nature of broken grandfather clocks is different from regular clocks or sand clocks and thus, the meanings of the images of the tattoos change too. Read on to know more about them. Take inspiration from the tattoos styles and images below and ink your favorite ones.

Broken Clock With Roses Tattoo

Broken Clock With Roses Tattoo
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Clock tattoos go pretty well with other design elements, like roses. A clock and rose tattoo meaning can be a moment of love or a passage of time full of love. However, when you add a broken clock instead of a working one, the meaning can change. Such as, you are free of loving emotions, time can’t bind your feelings of love.

The picture above shows a tattoo of a broken clock piece with three roses and the picture below is of a forearm tattoo of a broken clock with two roses and a compass. A compass associated with your broken clock tattoo designs can symbolize wishing for good luck and direction.

Broken Clock with Flowers tattoo
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Change the designs to your heart’s content for your next tattoo with more flowers with the rose tattoo designs, or change the designs of the broken clock itself.

Broken Clock With Lion Tattoo

Broken Clock with Flowers tattoo
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Lion tattoos represent strength, courage, and loyalty. Lion designs are one of the other elements that work extremely well with both regular clock and broken clock tattoos. When you incorporate the lion in a broken clock tattoo design, it can be thought-provoking meaningful. It might mean that you do not wait for a passage of time or don’t feel the importance of time to do a courageous or loyal act, rather you live your life in that manner always.

Both the picture above shows broken tattoos surrounding one eye of the lions. It is pretty evident how good the combination of these two tattoos look.

Clock With Lion Tattoo
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Men choose these tattoos mostly. You can change the design to something else and add more elements to it if you want. You can change the position of the broken clock from the lion’s eyes to all around its head or make changes in some other manner.

Broken Clock And Birds Tattoo

Broken Clock And Birds Tattoo
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The primary meaning of bird tattoos and broken clock tattoos are one and the same. Both represent a sense of freedom. That’s why a combination of these two tattoos can be a great idea. Broken clocks with birds flying away tattoos can mean that now you can fly freely as you have found freedom from the bonds of time. It can also mean that time is flying away.

You can get a broken clock and birds tattoo with a few words of wisdom written around like the picture above that clears up the meaning of your tattoo art a little more. You can also get a shoulder and chest tattoo of a simple broken clock and birds like the picture below that will leave the meaning of it open for interpretation.

Clock Tattoo
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Change the designs of the basic tattoos to your liking. Add more words or omit whatever you want to come up with your perfect broken clock with birds tattoo designs.

Broken Clock With Skull Tattoo

Broken Clock With Skull Tattoo
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Skulls tattoos, in general, are meaningful in a negative and positive, both ways. They represent the our mere existence, life and death, new beginnings. Broken clocks along with skull tattoos are a common sight and they symbolize the cycle of human life and freedom from the fear of death. It might mean that you are free from the fear of time passing on and on towards death.

The picture above shows a coloured picture of a broken clock on the forehead of a skull. The picture below is of a broken clock just above a skull.

Broken Clock With Skull Tattoos
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You can change the design of the skull or the broken clock to whichever styles you like. However the design may be, we can assure you that they will look trendy and cool.

Broken Grandfather Clock Tattoo

Broken Grandfather Clock Tattoo
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Grandfather clock tattoos usually represent someone’s ties to the past. A vintage or old clock reminds us of a time gone by and tattoos of these clocks mean the same as well. A broken grandfather clock tattoo may mean that you have severed your link to a passage of time that’s in the past.

The picture above is of a broken grandfather clock with no hands of hours, minutes, seconds. With mist around it, the design creates awesome tattoo art. The picture below is of an American traditional style of broken grandfather clock tattoo with bold lines and colours.

Grandfather Clock Tattoo
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Mandala and realistic designs go well with grandfather clock tattoos. You can add some other elements to the tattoo art as well to make it more elegant.

Melting Clock Tattoo

Melting Clock Tattoo
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There isn’t much of a difference between tattoos of broken clocks and melting clocks. The most popular design of a melting clock can be seen in the painting, ‘The Persistence of Memory’ drawn by the famous Spanish artist, Salvador Dali. Just like the painting, tattoos of melting clocks mainly represent a delusional manner of time. We are bound by time a little too much and if you feel it’s all an illusion and lives your life freely, then this tattoo is perfect for you.

The picture above shows a coloured tattoo of an altered version of the painting ‘The Persistence of Memory’. You can also ink simple yet scary melting clock tattoo designs like the one in the picture below.

Abstract Clock Tattoo
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Get your own altered, modified favorite version of the famous Salvador Dali painting or a simple one with abstract designs and more.

Broken Pocket Watch Tattoo

Broken Pocket Watch Tattoo
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Pocket watch tattoos are more of a style statement or whimsical choice for clock tattoos. They don’t bear any different symbolism than regular clock tattoos. Just like other broken clock tattoos, broken pocket watch tattoos also represent freedom from bonds of time, not placing too much importance on the flow of time.

You can include some other elements to the design like a rose such as the picture above or some other flowers. You can also go for a simple yet trendy design in watercolour like the one in the picture below.

Colored Clock Tattoo
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Include some words that depict your passion for a thing or some words of wisdom. Tweak the basic broken pocket watch tattoo design to make it the best. These tattoos look good on women and men all. You can add some date to it to mark the date of birth or death of a close person of yours.

Broken Hourglass Tattoo

Broken Hourglass Tattoo
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Hourglass tattoos represent the human life cycle, more precisely life and death of humans. We are bound to a routine and our existence depends on the loop of living day-to-day monotonous life like the sand in the sand clock keeps running and the sand clock keeps spinning. Hence, broken hourglass tattoos represent the end of fear from death and the monotonous life cycle, a free way of living. It’s the symbolism of living your life free of fear.

The picture above shows a broken sand clock arm tattoo and a writing that certainly enhances the symbolism of the tattoo. The picture below is of a realistic arm tattoo design of a broken hourglass tattoo that captures the true beauty and the meaning behind the tattoo.

Sand Clock Tattoo
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Choose your favorite sand clock design, include other mandala and abstract designs to increase the beauty of it and ink it to flaunt the tattoo.

Broken Eye Clock Tattoo

Broken Eye Clock Tattoo
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One of the most famous broken clock and clock tattoo designs is where people incorporate eye designs with them. The two style of tattoos might not have many common meanings but the combination of the two can be extremely meaningful. Eye tattoos represent loved ones, God, guidance, and protection. The meaning of the combination of these two tattoos depends on individuals as to how they want to express themselves.

You can get a simple tattoo design of a broken eye like the picture above. You can also choose a tattoo of a broken eye clock with a candle as a remembrance of a loved one like the picture below.

Eye Clock Tattoo
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Eye clock designs can be surreal. Change the design of the eye or the broken clock as you desire to come up with tattoos that will help you stand out in a crowd.

Broken Timeless Clock Tattoo

Broken Timeless Clock Tattoo
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Timeless clock or infinity clock tattoo designs are usually the clocks with no hands that spirals in an endless loop. This endless loop and no hands represent the wearer’s disregard for the never-ending life cycle and the wearer’s belief in perpetuity of certain values. Broken infinity clocks symbolize breaking free of the never-ending loop.

The picture above is of a half sleeve tattoo design of a vintage timeless clock and the picture below shows a sleeve tattoo of an infinity clock with some other designs that just enhances it’s beauty.

Zeus Sand Clock Tattoo
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These tattoos are largely associated with eye tattoos. The designs look awesome. You can include other designs to it as well to make it perfect for your next broken timeless clock tattoos.

Broken clock tattoos look good on women, men, and all. You already know the broken clock tattoo meaning and the many kinds of broken clock tattoos you can get from the information and the images above. These are a few more suggestions you can follow –

  1. Include flowers and Roman numbers to make the tattoos cooler.
  2. Broken digital clock tattoos can give a more precise timing sense to your tattoo. Digital clocks are also more related to modern technology, so they can be trendy too.

Get working on your broken clock tattoo drawing and let your tattoo artist do the magic.

If you like these tattoo suggestions, then check out Death Tattoo and Tree of life tattoo.

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