diff --git a/packages/k8s-ui/src/components/resources/ResourcesView.tsx b/packages/k8s-ui/src/components/resources/ResourcesView.tsx
index 5dec7cf72..b922bb7b6 100644
--- a/packages/k8s-ui/src/components/resources/ResourcesView.tsx
+++ b/packages/k8s-ui/src/components/resources/ResourcesView.tsx
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import React, { useState, useMemo, useEffect, useCallback, useRef, useContext } from 'react'
 import { TableVirtuoso, type TableVirtuosoHandle } from 'react-virtuoso'
 import { useRefreshAnimation } from '../../hooks/useRefreshAnimation'
+import { useNow } from '../../hooks/useNow'
 import { PaneLoader } from '../ui/PaneLoader'
 import type { TopPodMetrics, TopNodeMetrics } from '../../types'
 import {
@@ -1749,6 +1750,26 @@ function getInitialFiltersFromURL() {
 // Sort state type
 type SortDirection = 'asc' | 'desc' | null
 
+/**
+ * "Updated Xs" / "Updated 1m" badge in the toolbar.
+ *
+ * Lives in its own component so the 1Hz `useNow` tick re-renders
+ * only this tiny label, NOT the entire ResourcesView (which is
+ * ~4000 lines and contains a virtualized table). Without this
+ * boundary, every visible row's React render would run once per
+ * second just to advance one label by 1s.
+ */
+function LastUpdatedLabel({ lastUpdated }: { lastUpdated: Date }) {
+  // Read the ticking clock here so only this subtree re-renders.
+  useNow(1000)
+  return (
+    <div className="flex items-center gap-1.5 text-xs text-theme-text-tertiary">
+      <Clock className="w-3.5 h-3.5" />
+      <span>Updated {formatAge(lastUpdated.toISOString())}</span>
+    </div>
+  )
+}
+
 export function ResourcesView({
   namespaces, selectedResource, onResourceClick, onResourceClickYaml, onKindChange,
   apiResources: apiResourcesProp,
@@ -2624,12 +2645,25 @@ export function ResourcesView({
 
   const [refetch, isRefreshAnimating, refreshPhase] = useRefreshAnimation(() => refetchFn?.())
 
-  // Track last updated time
+  // Track last updated time.
+  //
+  // React Query bumps `dataUpdatedAt` every time it records a successful
+  // fetch — even when the response is byte-identical to what's already
+  // cached and structural sharing returns the same `data` reference.
+  // Mounting / focusing windows / a sibling subscriber issuing the same
+  // queryKey can all trigger a no-op refetch. Resetting the user-visible
+  // "Updated Xs" timer on those events is misleading: it suggests fresh
+  // data arrived when nothing actually changed, and the user reads the
+  // "<1s" jump as evidence that opening a filter drawer triggered a real
+  // network round-trip. Gate the bump on data-reference change so we only
+  // bump when the cache actually mutated.
+  const lastDataRef = useRef<unknown>(undefined)
   useEffect(() => {
-    if (dataUpdatedAt) {
+    if (dataUpdatedAt && resources !== lastDataRef.current) {
+      lastDataRef.current = resources
       setLastUpdated(new Date(dataUpdatedAt))
     }
-  }, [dataUpdatedAt])
+  }, [dataUpdatedAt, resources])
 
   // Derive counts — prefer lightweight resourceCounts prop over full query data
   const counts = useMemo(() => {
@@ -3468,12 +3502,7 @@ export function ResourcesView({
             </span>
           )}
 
-          {lastUpdated && (
-            <div className="flex items-center gap-1.5 text-xs text-theme-text-tertiary">
-              <Clock className="w-3.5 h-3.5" />
-              <span>Updated {formatAge(lastUpdated.toISOString())}</span>
-            </div>
-          )}
+          {lastUpdated && <LastUpdatedLabel lastUpdated={lastUpdated} />}
           {/* Column picker */}
           <div className="relative" ref={columnPickerRef}>
             <button
@@ -3953,7 +3982,19 @@ function CellContent({ resource, kind, column, group, majorityNodeMinorVersion,
     )
   }
   if (column === 'age') {
-    return <span className="text-sm text-theme-text-secondary">{formatAge(meta.creationTimestamp)}</span>
+    // Tooltip with the absolute creationTimestamp gives users a
+    // stable reference: relative-age values felt like they shifted
+    // between refreshes, eroding trust in the column. The absolute
+    // timestamp is the ground truth — exposing it on hover lets
+    // users self-verify without leaving the table.
+    if (!meta.creationTimestamp) {
+      return <span className="text-sm text-theme-text-secondary">-</span>
+    }
+    return (
+      <Tooltip content={new Date(meta.creationTimestamp).toLocaleString()}>
+        <span className="text-sm text-theme-text-secondary">{formatAge(meta.creationTimestamp)}</span>
+      </Tooltip>
+    )
   }
 
   // Kind-specific columns (normalize CRD singular names like 'ScaledObject' → 'scaledobjects')
diff --git a/packages/k8s-ui/src/hooks/index.ts b/packages/k8s-ui/src/hooks/index.ts
index 1ac4a1e1d..99222c042 100644
--- a/packages/k8s-ui/src/hooks/index.ts
+++ b/packages/k8s-ui/src/hooks/index.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 export { useAnimatedUnmount } from './useAnimatedUnmount'
 export { useRefreshAnimation } from './useRefreshAnimation'
+export { useNow } from './useNow'
 export {
   KeyboardShortcutProvider,
   useRegisterShortcut,
diff --git a/packages/k8s-ui/src/hooks/useNow.test.ts b/packages/k8s-ui/src/hooks/useNow.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..99b286e2b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/k8s-ui/src/hooks/useNow.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,108 @@
+import { describe, it, expect, vi } from 'vitest'
+import { useNow, shouldScheduleNow, scheduleNowTicks } from './useNow'
+
+// This package's vitest config has no @testing-library/react and no
+// jsdom — we can't render hooks here. Instead the hook's effect
+// body is hoisted into the pure `scheduleNowTicks` driver, and we
+// exercise THAT directly: the same opt-out rules, the same
+// setInterval call, the same cleanup contract that the hook
+// installs at runtime. The hook itself is also imported so the
+// suite fails if its export shape regresses.
+
+describe('useNow', () => {
+  it('exports a callable hook with the documented signature', () => {
+    expect(typeof useNow).toBe('function')
+    expect(useNow.length).toBeLessThanOrEqual(1)
+  })
+})
+
+describe('shouldScheduleNow', () => {
+  it('schedules when intervalMs is a positive number', () => {
+    expect(shouldScheduleNow(1)).toBe(true)
+    expect(shouldScheduleNow(1000)).toBe(true)
+    expect(shouldScheduleNow(60_000)).toBe(true)
+  })
+
+  it('opts out when intervalMs is null', () => {
+    expect(shouldScheduleNow(null)).toBe(false)
+  })
+
+  it('opts out when intervalMs is zero', () => {
+    expect(shouldScheduleNow(0)).toBe(false)
+  })
+
+  it('opts out when intervalMs is negative', () => {
+    expect(shouldScheduleNow(-1)).toBe(false)
+    expect(shouldScheduleNow(-1000)).toBe(false)
+  })
+})
+
+describe('scheduleNowTicks (the pure body of useNow)', () => {
+  function fakeTimers() {
+    // Type the spies explicitly so TS knows .mock.calls has the
+    // (cb, ms) shape — vi.fn() inference defaults to a 0-arity
+    // signature otherwise.
+    const setInterval = vi.fn<(cb: () => void, ms: number) => unknown>(() => 'TIMER_ID' as unknown)
+    const clearInterval = vi.fn<(id: unknown) => void>()
+    const now = vi.fn<() => number>(() => 1700000000000)
+    return {
+      timers: { setInterval, clearInterval, now },
+      setInterval,
+      clearInterval,
+      now,
+    }
+  }
+
+  it('installs no timer and returns a no-op cleanup when interval is null', () => {
+    const setNow = vi.fn()
+    const { timers, setInterval, clearInterval } = fakeTimers()
+    const cleanup = scheduleNowTicks(null, setNow, timers)
+    expect(setInterval).not.toHaveBeenCalled()
+    cleanup()
+    expect(clearInterval).not.toHaveBeenCalled()
+  })
+
+  it('installs no timer when interval is zero or negative', () => {
+    const setNow = vi.fn()
+    for (const bad of [0, -1, -1000]) {
+      const { timers, setInterval } = fakeTimers()
+      scheduleNowTicks(bad, setNow, timers)
+      expect(setInterval, `interval=${bad}`).not.toHaveBeenCalled()
+    }
+  })
+
+  it('installs an interval that calls setNow with the current time', () => {
+    const setNow = vi.fn()
+    const { timers, setInterval, now } = fakeTimers()
+    scheduleNowTicks(1000, setNow, timers)
+    expect(setInterval).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1)
+    expect(setInterval.mock.calls[0][1]).toBe(1000)
+
+    // Fire the registered tick — the hook must update state with
+    // the latest wall-clock value, NOT the value captured at
+    // mount.
+    const tick = setInterval.mock.calls[0][0] as () => void
+    now.mockReturnValue(1700000005000)
+    tick()
+    expect(setNow).toHaveBeenCalledWith(1700000005000)
+    now.mockReturnValue(1700000010000)
+    tick()
+    expect(setNow).toHaveBeenLastCalledWith(1700000010000)
+  })
+
+  it('returns a cleanup that clears the registered timer id', () => {
+    const setNow = vi.fn()
+    const { timers, setInterval, clearInterval } = fakeTimers()
+    setInterval.mockReturnValue(42)
+    const cleanup = scheduleNowTicks(1000, setNow, timers)
+    cleanup()
+    expect(clearInterval).toHaveBeenCalledWith(42)
+  })
+
+  it('passes the interval through unchanged (1Hz vs 60Hz callers)', () => {
+    const setNow = vi.fn()
+    const { timers, setInterval } = fakeTimers()
+    scheduleNowTicks(60_000, setNow, timers)
+    expect(setInterval.mock.calls[0][1]).toBe(60_000)
+  })
+})
diff --git a/packages/k8s-ui/src/hooks/useNow.ts b/packages/k8s-ui/src/hooks/useNow.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..9b2a35969
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/k8s-ui/src/hooks/useNow.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,80 @@
+import { useEffect, useState } from 'react'
+
+/**
+ * Pure predicate for whether `useNow` should schedule a tick for the
+ * given interval. Extracted so the scheduling rule (null and
+ * non-positive intervals opt out; anything > 0 ticks) can be
+ * unit-tested without a React renderer.
+ */
+export function shouldScheduleNow(intervalMs: number | null): boolean {
+  if (intervalMs === null) return false
+  if (intervalMs <= 0) return false
+  return true
+}
+
+/**
+ * Pure scheduler used by `useNow`. Given the timer primitives, the
+ * interval, and a setter, it installs an interval that calls
+ * `setNow(nowFn())` every `intervalMs` and returns a cleanup
+ * function — or installs nothing and returns a no-op for opt-out
+ * intervals.
+ *
+ * Hoisted so the hook's full effect body (the part that's actually
+ * worth testing — opt-out vs schedule, the cleanup contract, the
+ * value passed to setNow) is unit-testable end-to-end without
+ * needing a React renderer (this package's vitest config has
+ * neither @testing-library/react nor jsdom).
+ */
+export function scheduleNowTicks(
+  intervalMs: number | null,
+  setNow: (n: number) => void,
+  timers: {
+    setInterval: (cb: () => void, ms: number) => unknown
+    clearInterval: (id: unknown) => void
+    now: () => number
+  },
+): () => void {
+  if (!shouldScheduleNow(intervalMs)) {
+    return () => {}
+  }
+  const id = timers.setInterval(() => setNow(timers.now()), intervalMs as number)
+  return () => timers.clearInterval(id)
+}
+
+/**
+ * Returns the current wall-clock time, refreshed every `intervalMs`.
+ *
+ * Use this when you have UI that derives a relative time string
+ * (e.g. "Updated 8s", "24d") from a fixed timestamp. Without it,
+ * the relative label only changes when the parent re-renders for
+ * an unrelated reason — which makes the label feel frozen, and
+ * worse: the next unrelated re-render makes it jump forward by
+ * however many seconds passed in silence. Users perceived that as
+ * a "data re-fetch was triggered" because the displayed age
+ * suddenly updated.
+ *
+ * The interval is opt-in per call site so cells in tight tables
+ * don't pay the cost of a 1Hz tick when they only need a 60Hz
+ * update for "minutes" granularity.
+ *
+ * @param intervalMs how often to advance the clock. Defaults to
+ *                   1000ms. Pass `null` to disable ticking
+ *                   (returns the time at mount and never updates).
+ * @returns the current `Date.now()` value.
+ */
+export function useNow(intervalMs: number | null = 1000): number {
+  const [now, setNow] = useState(() => Date.now())
+
+  useEffect(() => {
+    // Use globalThis for the timer primitives so the hook works
+    // under SSR / Node-based tests too. In browsers these are the
+    // same as window.setInterval; in Node, `window` is undefined.
+    return scheduleNowTicks(intervalMs, setNow, {
+      setInterval: globalThis.setInterval as (cb: () => void, ms: number) => unknown,
+      clearInterval: globalThis.clearInterval as (id: unknown) => void,
+      now: Date.now,
+    })
+  }, [intervalMs])
+
+  return now
+}