I dont know if this would be useful to you, but whilst making our final year Electronic project in college my friend made a digital cloak.
He made it so that there was a two 7 segment displays in the middle counting the minutes, whilst having 12 LEDS in a circle around the 7 segment displays displaying the hours.
I could obtain the circuit diagrams for you if this is of interest you.
I the circuit he made did work, just to give you certanty of its reliability.
Private message me back if you so wish this information.