The TRAVELER'S JOURNAL: October thirtieth, with a clock for all time zones.

Although the Geochron is stone age in design compared with today's high tech clocks, it still ranks among the world's most exclusive time-pieces. You may have seen them. Geochrons are flat, lighted wall maps which simultaneously display the time of day everywhere on earth. They also show where the sun's shining and where it's dark, adjusting automatically for the planet's rotation and passing of the seasons.

In an increasingly digital world, Geochrons are charmingly analog and electromechanical. Tiny motors and gears shift panels which accurately imitate the movement of the earth through the heavens. The first Geochron was invented almost 40 years ago by James Kilberg, an engineer who also held patents for a cigarette lighter in cars as well as a device to remove the pits from maraschino cherries. The Smithsonian Institute called them "the last significant contribution in time keeping."

Over 20,000 Geochrons are in use today, and several thousand new ones are manufactured each year. You'll find them at embassies, airports, hotels and corporate board rooms around the globe. Ronald Reagan gave Michael Gorbachev a Geochron as an example of American ingenuity. NASA still uses several to track night and day during orbital space flights, and there's one in the White House situation room. Author and traveler, William F. Buckley once credited his Geochron with providing a particularly platonic pleasure.

New Geochrons start around $1400, depending on if they're framed in real oak or a simulated wood finish. For travelers who love great gadgets, they're timepieces without peer.

FMI For information on Geochrons 1-920- 337-1640 or www.thingsunique.com/geochron

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