Introducing the HSNY Watch Pouch!

Just in Time for the Holidays!

Introducing the HSNY Watch Pouch — a collaborative endeavor between the Horological Society of New York (HSNY), The Armoury, and Jean Rousseau!

This triple-branded watch pouch provides a luxurious fusion of heritage, style and craftsmanship, ensuring your treasured timepieces are protected whether on the go or stored away.

Key Features:

1. Exceptional Craftsmanship: Each HSNY Watch Pouch is meticulously crafted by Jean Rousseau’s skilled artisans who take extreme care in selecting, tanning and finishing leather goods at their in-house tannery and workshop. Our HSNY Watch Pouch’s superior construction ensures that your watches remain safe and secure in style.

2. Premium Materials: We spared no expense in selecting the finest materials. The exterior boasts luxurious goatskin known for its soft and lightweight qualities. The naturally tight grain is durable and will soften and develop a unique patina as it ages alongside your favorite timepiece.

3. Elegant Design: The watch pouch's sleek design is perfect for small and large watches, and its flap closure keeps your watches snugly secured while maintaining easy access. Bonus: HSNY’s modern logo is embossed on the pouch’s flap and adds a touch of sophistication. Each watch pouch is packed in a Jean Rousseau branded box, ensuring safe delivery that is ready to gift!

4. Travel-Ready: Perfect for jet-setters and globetrotters, this pouch is designed with travel in mind. The compact size and lightweight construction make it easy to slip into your luggage or carry-on, safeguarding your collection against dust, moisture, and minor impacts.

Available in four colors: Black, Purple, Burgundy and Blue

Dimensions: 6" tall, 2.5" wide, 1" thick

Price: $85

All proceeds go towards meeting the Horological Society of New York’s mission of advancing the art and science of horology.

Welcoming New HSNY Members, September 2023

HSNY would like to welcome the following new members. It is only with our members' support that we are able to continue flourishing as America's oldest watchmaking guild and advancing the art and science of horology every day. 

GOLD

  • James Mercer, CA

  • Shelby McPherson, FL

SILVER

  • Brian Clark, CA

  • James Duffett-Smith, NY

  • Justin Piccione, NY

  • Nickey Oates, TX

BRONZE

  • Adrian Cheung, Hong Kong

  • Anthony Hendon, VA

  • Dan Keen, CA

  • Erick Espinoza, NY

  • Georgios Deftereos, CA

  • Gilbert Nieves, MA

  • Konstantin Bukov, CA

  • Martin Edelman, NY

  • Michael Borawski, MA

  • Nicholas R. Fermor, United Kingdom

  • Raymond Borawski, MA

  • Ronald Walker, FL

  • Ryan Hutchinson, NC

  • Sam Wigotsky, NY

  • Wenyu Zhu, China

* Upgraded Membership Level

Welcoming New HSNY Members, July & August 2023

HSNY would like to welcome the following new members. It is only with our members' support that we are able to continue flourishing as America's oldest watchmaking guild and advancing the art and science of horology every day. 

GOLD

  • Cameron Ali Nowrouzi, CO

  • Lannon Martin, VA

  • Michael Chiaramonte, NY

SILVER

  • Bryant L. Valentine, FL

  • Scott Ferron, IL

BRONZE

  • Adam Sgro, NY

  • Alexander Thomas Metrocavich, NY

  • Anthony Addair III, FL

  • Brennan Wallace, SC

  • Brent Parker, FL

  • Brian Preusser, CO

  • Brian Spaid, WI

  • Chase S, NC

  • Derek R. Schiavone, VA

  • Derrick Washington, CA

  • Dineth Wijayarathna, England

  • Ed Tsue, NY

  • Emilio Gimenez, CA

  • Gelu George Man, TX

  • George Tolosa, CA

  • John Napoli, NY

  • Jordan Minges, FL

  • Kovy Katzovitz, FL

  • Lutz Kockel, CA

  • Mark Connell, Australia

  • Richard Harris, Hong Kong

  • Richard Newman, IL

  • Scott Kohlert, TX

  • Scott Piekarsky, NJ

  • Stephani Downey, CA

  • T. Brandon Clark, CA

  • Todd Edmonds, NJ

  • Valencia Sipes, VA

  • Vasil Nestorovski, NY

  • Ven Raphael de Aponte, NC

* Upgraded Membership Level

HSNY Establishes a Partnership With The Watch Library Foundation

Horological History Goes Digital

The Horological Society of New York (HSNY) announces today that it has established a partnership with The Watch Library Foundation based in Geneva, Switzerland.

An initiative that began in 2021, HSNY’s partnership program aims to champion like-minded nonprofit organizations around the world. The partnership aims to further the mutual interests of both organizations and continue to promote horology.

The Watch Library Foundation, whose mission is to preserve and enhance watchmaking heritage towards a wide audience, includes the digitizing and mobilizing of resources and archives from a myriad of watchmaking museums, brands, institutions, media, retailers, suppliers and libraries. 

A digitized version of The Horologist’s Loupe, 1945

The platform, for example, has over 900 digitized and searchable pages of HSNY’s The Horologist’s Loupe, one of the oldest continuously running horological publications in the world. Additional sources with digitized material include Europa Star, the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry, Swisstime, Bibliothèque nationale de France, and Radio Télévision Suisse, with more to come.

By utilizing the capabilities of today’s technologies, The Watch Library Foundation aims to demonstrate how shared data and knowledge can foster innovation and creativity and thus feed the imagination of experts, current and future professionals and watch enthusiasts alike.

Learn more about the Horological Society of New York here.
Learn more about The Watch Library Foundation here.

Upcoming Lecture: A. Lange & Söhne and Its Very Own Way of Watchmaking

Wilhelm Schmid, Chief Executive Officer, A. Lange & Söhne (Glashütte, Germany)
October 2, 2023

At the October lecture of the Horological Society of New York, Wilhelm Schmid, CEO of A. Lange & Söhne, will explain how the vision of Dresden watchmaker Ferdinand Adolph Lange, who laid the cornerstone of Saxony's precision watchmaking industry when he established his manufacture in 1845, still defines the philosophy of A. Lange & Söhne today. After his great-grandson Walter Lange had the courage to relaunch the brand together with the industry expert Günter Blümlein in 1990, A. Lange & Söhne quickly worked its way up to the top of the watchmaking world again.

Since its new foundation, developing and producing movements has been the Saxon manufacture’s special expertise. Every timepiece that bears the brand’s logo is equipped with a manufacture movement crafted in-house. Over the years, this has resulted in 71 distinctive masterpieces in a relatively short time. Each one combines traditional elements with groundbreaking innovations and is distinguished by an extremely high level of craftsmanship. Discover what factors have contributed to this extraordinary achievement and what future strategies A. Lange & Söhne is pursuing.

*Doors open at 6PM ET, lecture to begin at 7PM ET. RSVP is required.

** The lecture video will be available to members immediately, and to the general public following a two-month delay.

Reading Time at HSNY: The Witching Hour

This post is part of a series, Reading Time at HSNY, written by our librarian, Miranda Marraccini. 

Image 1: “Le repas des singes” (“The Monkeys’ Meal”) pictured in Les Automates by Jean Prasteau (1968.)

“Death is the ultimate complication,” declares Watanabe, the provocateur artist and inventor of the Cassius Seven, the titular “Death Watch” of Stona Fitch’s new novel. At its launch, the wristwatch’s features sound like any other that would be covered in dutiful detail by a journalist: “full-jeweled movement, titanium case, sapphire bezel.” There’s just one tiny addition: seven spinning knives that might emerge from the case to kill the wearer in an instant by severing his wrist. Oh yeah, and once you put it on, you can’t take it off.

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Is it an ironic publicity stunt, a fake-out meant to embarrass the billionaire watch collectors of the world with a send-up of their irresponsible, nihilistic wealth? A postmodern joke built to raise questions about our “precarious existence” as mortal humans, which could indeed end at any moment? Or, as its inventor claims, does this watch really know the answer to the question “When will you die?” The characters in this book aren’t too sure, but they’re about to find out. 

If you’re a regular consumer of watch content, you’ll enjoy the industry parody in “Death Watch,” available to peruse in our library at the Horological Society of New York (image 2 shows the book alongside some of the non-deadly watches in our current exhibit.) This deadly watch, while fictional, raises the specter of the real-life watches that have killed or maimed.

One of the most obvious classes of deadly watches is the radium dial watch. Of course, you aren’t going to die from wearing a lumed watch today, even if it’s radioactive – but people did die, or were horribly sickened, in the process of creating them.

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The Radium Girls were workers at American watch factories who ingested poisonous radium paint. At work, they used their saliva to “point” the brushes, creating a fine tip to paint glowing details on dials and hands. Eventually, the radium paint caused their jaws to disintegrate, as well as other health effects, and was ultimately fatal for many. 

The Radium Girls later inspired a slew of books, plays, songs, and movies, as well as a labor rights movement that helped protect future generations of workers. Here at the library, we have a few versions of their story in print, including Kate Moore’s “The Radium Girls.” 

In a new graphic novel also called “Radium Girls,” which HSNY owns in French and English, artist Cy illustrates these “ghost girls” whose clothes and bodies would glow after their shifts, covered in fine radium dust. He focuses on real workers at the U.S. Radium Corporation in New Jersey in the 1920s, including Grace Fryer, whose bravery is recognized by a scholarship at HSNY (image 3). If you turn out the lights, surprise! The ghoulish glow of the book’s front cover makes the radium effect threateningly tangible (images 4 & 5).

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While the effects of radium are horrifying and sad, further down on the “just creepy” portion of the scary spectrum are humanoid automata. Books in our library cover automata in detail, since, like watches, they run on mechanical clockwork. Many people find them unsettling, with their too-wide smiles and their whirring indifference to the frailty of human flesh. 

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Some automata are merely visually upsetting–a particular “monkey harpist” in the museum catalog “Musical Machines and Living Dolls” will haunt my dreams until I expire. Images 6 and 7 show partially disassembled human and dog figures from the book “Les Automates” by Jean Prasteau, which will probably not emerge from the computer to murder you. Other automata are unsettling for more complicated, cerebral reasons: the workshop of Pierre Jacquet-Droz, an 18th-century watchmaker known for his singing songbirds, produced automata that were capable of drawing, playing music, and writing reprogrammable sentences, and could be called early computers. (You can still see them in action today at the Neuchâtel Museum of Art and History in Switzerland.) These automata, sometimes referred to as robots or androids, blur the line between human and machine, falling into the “uncanny valley” where they inspire fear and revulsion–in scientific terms, they give us the ick.

Of course human fears about almost-humans have accelerated in light of the current artificial intelligence arms race, but these worries have been around for centuries. In the 1899 story “Moxon’s Master,” for instance, a fictional chess-playing automaton, inspired by real-life examples, kills its creator after losing to him. Recently, a real chess-playing robot made headlines when it broke a little boy’s finger during a match in Moscow. The president of the Moscow Chess Federation was quoted as saying: “The robot broke the child’s finger — this, of course, is bad.” The robots are coming for us. Bad indeed.

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Ending my article on the least scary end of the horror-logical spectrum, I wanted to include a few images from a new acquisition at HSNY’s ever-growing library. “Five O’Clock Tea” is a French-language Omega advertising pamphlet from 1912 whose narrative can only be described as “trippy” (see image 8). The story, by Jean Richepin, calls itself a “modern fairy tale,” and is chock-full of goblins, fairies, and gnomes. A young girl, Didi, is suffering from a mysterious fever, which can only be cured by a visit to fairyland where she will meet magic creatures.

The doctor instructs Didi to breathe in a “magic smoke” composed mainly of opium poppies and hashish (really). Didi begins to see the creatures of fairyland dancing in front of her. The doctor explains: “Because we enjoy all our progress here [in the real world]… Steam, electricity, mechanics, have their elves, their fairies, their gnomes…there has recently been a brand new gnome among the fairies…who tells them the exact time.”

Image 9

In image 9, by artist Maurice Lalavi, a gnome with the body of an Omega watch appears in the sky over the ecstatic Didi, who exclaims “The new gnome of exact time, I see it!” This “gnome” has a heart that beats 18,000 times per hour, or 300 times a minute, a “metal heart, his escapement heart, his magical heart, made of wheels and springs which split time and create it by splitting it.” This advertising copy is carefully written for accuracy; an Omega watch-heart of 1912 could beat at 18,0000 vibrations per hour or 2.5 hertz, on the low end of the modern watch frequency spectrum.

The pamphlet closes with an image of the enormous Omega factory, subtitled by a production claim of 900 to 1000 watches per day (image 11). To tie in with the story, the publication also features full-color illustrations of the latest models (you can see an early wristwatch with a bracelet in image 10). Omega customers could have picked up this pamphlet at French department store Kirby, Beard & Co., a major Omega retailer at the time.

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Although this is not a work intended for children, it may be designed to appeal to adults craving a little connection to the fairyland of fantasy. The subject couldn’t be more practical–watches designed for precision–but the treatment couldn’t be more whimsical. Watches are part of the world of magic, the story suggests, amalgams of artistry and engineering that seem almost supernatural. But watches are just things, really–things that can inspire your daydreams or stalk your nightmares, make you smile or sweat, leave you feeling treated or tricked.

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Reading Time at HSNY: Watch Me Learn!

This post is part of a series, Reading Time at HSNY, written by our librarian, Miranda Marraccini. 

Image 1: Illustration from an advertising pamphlet from the National School of Watchmaking, Chicago IL, 1927.

It’s back to school this month for lots of kids and adults. While you might be busy stocking your kid’s backpack with trapper keepers and erasable pens (my references may be dated), watchmaking students are picking up their loupes and staking tools to get to work. But how do people learn to become watchmakers, clockmakers and watch repairers? What was horological education like in the recent past?

Here at the Horological Society of New York (HSNY), our library has advertising pamphlets, syllabi, and textbooks from watchmaking schools in Europe and America throughout the 20th century. Within the U.S., we have materials from no-longer-extant schools in New Jersey, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Missouri, California, Wisconsin, and Nebraska, demonstrating how widespread watchmaking education was at the time.

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One of the more charming educational pamphlets I’ve located is Some of the Hundreds of Items which Cause a Watch to Stop, published by the Western Pennsylvania Horological Institute in Pittsburgh in the 1940s (image 2). The authors of the pamphlet, designed for watchmakers and conveniently hole-punched to fit in a three-ring binder, seem to know that its title may be daunting. “Don’t become alarmed,” they reassure their readers. “The list is much simpler than it seems at first reading.” 

Indeed many of the directions are straightforward, such as “10. Does the guard pin appear in a straight line with safety roller?” and “77. Did you oil escape wheel teeth?” Some of the items on the list blame customers, as in “86. Failure to wind fully (ladies are especially prone to this).” Aside from its obviously practical use, the pamphlet also serves as an advertisement for the Western Pennsylvania Horological Institute and its “complete, modern, up-to-date experimental laboratory and research department,” where students can learn from a “pioneering” curriculum. 

Whether Western Pennsylvania was indeed the “finest in the country,” as it calls itself, is up for debate. Another WPHI pamphlet from the 1940s includes the altered tagline “World’s Largest Watchmaking School” and targets women for recruitment, declaring “A new field for women!...It enables women to be financially independent whether married or single” (image 3).

Image 3

In the horological hub of Lancaster, in the eastern part of the same state, the Bowman Technical School trained men and women into the 1970s in watchmaking, engraving, and jewelry work. Its historic building, which also contained a shop and an observatory, was recently purchased by the family of a jeweler who attended the school and has already been returned to a horological purpose as a Hamilton retail store. Image 4 shows the building in about 1910; image 5 shows the building in 2019.

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In image 7, Bradley Polytechnic Institute in Peoria, Illinois shows off its Horological Department in front of “Horology Hall” in 1923. The class is stunningly large by today’s standards.

Pictures in the Bradley brochure show students engaged in different stages of the watchmaking process at long tables. “Elementary Watchwork” was one of six divisions, and students could specialize in just one, such as engraving or even optics, if they wanted to make eyeglasses instead of watches (image 8). The brochure specifies that women are admitted to all departments of study, and the list of students and graduates at the end demonstrates this, with entries like Mrs. Estella Hinkley of Illinois and Mrs. A. Lindsey of Nebraska. Indeed, the founder of Bradley Polytechnic was a woman, noted philanthropist Lydia Moss Bradley. There were also students from as far away as Korea, Syria, and New Zealand. 

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Just like many opportunities for technical education today, watchmaking schools of the 20th century advertised the speed and ease with which you could graduate and get a stable job, even during periods of economic distress. They touted watchmaking as a career with exceptional financial independence and security. To make their promises, school advertisements used testimonials from graduates as well as reprinted help wanted ads. In the early 1940s, a letter from the American School of Watchmaking president, Herbert W. Hartley, assures: “Yes, after the war is over, and fine watches and clocks are again available to the civilian market, there is expected to be a TREMENDOUS DEMAND for them…Just when the war will end is, of course, anyone’s guess. But when peace DOES COME, will YOU be prepared!” Indeed, the post-war period brought fresh opportunities, including the Joseph Bulova School of Watchmaking, which trained disabled veterans for a new career. I’ll be featuring Bulova and its influence on disability rights in a future article.

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Hartley, at the American School of Watchmaking, uses abundant all-caps threats to scare prospective students into applying: “DON’T PUT IT OFF! Every day new opportunities are being offered to men qualified in this field…JOBS AND BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES that might have been YOURS had you started YOUR training sooner!” Other schools had different, gentler approaches to recruiting: in 1956, the Chicago School of Watchmaking offered a free watch to anyone who enrolled, and they could choose from different men’s and women’s models (image 9).

Schools in desirable cities also used their location as a selling point, as is visible in the not-entirely-relevant images of men and women in bathing suits from the 1940s and 1950s (images 10 & 11) printed in California watchmaking school recruitment materials. Perhaps not surprisingly, the American School of Watchmaking in Los Angeles particularly exploited this angle in their advertising.

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Students who couldn’t make it to Los Angeles or any of the American watchmaking schools could enroll in the 20th-century equivalent of online classes: correspondence courses. In a correspondence course, the student would receive syllabi and lessons by mail, which meant there was a lot of paper involved. As a result, much more of the coursework survives in our library. (For in-person courses, handwritten notebooks are often the only surviving materials. You can see some beautiful examples of student work in one of my earlier posts.)

The DeSelms Watch School (images 12 & 13) was a “Home Course” established in 1903. An advertisement in 1913 in Popular Mechanics promises: “after you complete the course you will know a watch from A to Z.” The course took about 30 weeks to complete, although students could set their own pace. Tuition included the loan of a lathe, and students were responsible for acquiring their own beginner set of tools.

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Just like Bradley, in its pamphlet, DeSelms advertises its appeal to international learners, even including a photograph of one Gonzalo Quinones, a student from Costa Rica (image 14). And like modern distance learning programs, DeSelms touts its flexibility and accessibility, so that students who are currently employed or have other responsibilities can learn on their own schedule.

The De Selms brochure urges readers to make a change in their lives, dismissing all obstacles: “You may think you live too far away…You may think you haven’t enough spare time…Stop doubting. If you are going to succeed you are going to act…The DeSelms school makes everything easy for you, no matter who you are, or where you live.” There is an inclusive impulse to distance courses, then as now, which attempt to remove barriers to hardworking people who want to start a new career. These days you can still learn watchmaking and watch repair through distance learning, including in a British Horological Institute program. 

Today, HSNY continues the tradition of helping students overcome barriers to succeed as watchmakers. We assist watchmaking students by offering eight different scholarships, some of which are designed for students from underrepresented backgrounds in the field. If you’re thinking about a career in watchmaking, we encourage you to dip your toe in with one of our classes, which are built for absolute beginners. We too believe that “no matter who you are, or where you live,” you can become a watchmaker. So stop doubting, and get to work!

Upcoming Lecture: Robert Leslie: A Forgotten Early American Maker and the Rediscovery of George Washington’s Deathbed Clock

Richard Newman, Antiquarian Horologist (DeKalb, Illinois)
September 6, 2023

Robert Leslie was at the forefront of invention and innovation in 18th-century Philadelphia and was awarded America’s first clock and watch patents. However, his contributions were discounted until one of his patented watches was found in 2012 which prompted renewed research. The trail amazingly led to George Washington and the time of his death on December 14, 1799, when his last breath was preserved for eternity on the dial of a colonial-made chamber clock.

At the September lecture of the Horological Society of New York, antiquarian horologist Richard Newman will discuss Leslie’s legacy as the greatest American clock and watchmaker of the 18th century.

*Doors open at 6PM ET, lecture to begin at 7PM ET. RSVP is required.

** The lecture video will be available to members immediately, and to the general public following a two-month delay.

HSNY’s Horology Courses Return to London

The Horological Society of New York’s (HSNY) award-winning classes are returning to London, England on September 30 and October 1, 2023. The courses, which cover HSNY’s Horology 101-103 curriculum, will be hosted by Phillips in Association with Bacs and Russo in partnership with the British Horological Institute and the Museum of Timekeeping.

The Royal Automobile Club, London

The powerhouses will meet across the pond following a successful Traveling Education tour in 2019, which saw sold-out watchmaker benches within days of tickets going live. This year, students will have the opportunity to learn in a unique setting — The Royal Automobile Club. Participants will be offered a tour of the historical venue which was founded in 1897 and functions as a British private social and athletic club. Attendees who wish to tour the premises are required to adhere to the club’s dress code.

Throughout the course, students can discover what makes a mechanical movement tick. Each four-hour course will include the disassembly and reassembly of an ETA 6497 movement, along with explanations of proper usage of watchmaking tools and of modern horological terminology and theories. No prior experience is required for horology enthusiasts to enroll and all proceeds from ticket sales will go toward’s HSNY’s mission of advancing the art and science of horology.

Visit HSNY’s Eventbrite page for a schedule and to reserve your seat at the bench!

HSNY Raises Over $50,000 at Annual Charity Auction

Presented Online By Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo 

The Horological Society of New York (HSNY) announces today that it has raised $50,165 at its “Timepieces for HSNY: 2023 Charity Auction,” presented online by Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo. All proceeds from the sale, which took place online from July 6-11, will benefit HSNY in its ongoing mission to advance the art and science of horology.

Six lots made up this year's auction, which included timepieces by Laurent Ferrier, H. Moser & Cie., Jaeger-LeCoultre, NOMOS Glashütte and Oris, along with a set of six brand new books on independent watchmaking, all signed personally by François-Paul Journe of F.P.Journe.

In addition to HSNY’s online auction, the Society raised $20,000 through the sale of its 2023 Lifetime Membership Card at its 157th anniversary Gala & Awards Ceremony in April. The card, which was engine-turned by Joshua Shapiro and hand-engraved by Artur Akmaev, comes with lifetime membership privileges at HSNY, including all aspects of current and future membership tiers.

“We were able to raise over $70,000 during our 2023 charity auction season thanks to the support of our generous sponsors, donors, bidders and Phillips,” said HSNY Deputy Director Carolina Navarro. “Through our combined efforts, we’ll be able to continue offering scholarship opportunities to full-time watchmaking students across the country and we look forward to building on this achievement.”

# # #

ABOUT THE HOROLOGICAL SOCIETY OF NEW YORK

Founded in 1866, the Horological Society of New York (HSNY) is one of the oldest continuously operating horological associations in the world. Today, HSNY is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the art and science of horology through education. Members are a diverse mix of watchmakers, clockmakers, executives, journalists, auctioneers, historians, salespeople and collectors, reflecting the rich nature of horology in New York City and around the world.

Official website: https://hs-ny.org

Welcoming New HSNY Members, May & June 2023

HSNY would like to welcome the following new members. It is only with our members' support that we are able to continue flourishing as America's oldest watchmaking guild and advancing the art and science of horology every day. 

GOLD

  • Andrew Munchbach, MA

  • John A. Davis, NY *

SILVER

  • Caleb Bradham, NY

  • Kristina Whyte, NY

BRONZE

  • Andrew Davidson, CA

  • Anthony Lam, NY

  • Art Gertel, NJ

  • Dominique Schuwey, Switzerland

  • James Stewart, CA

  • Patrick Weber, GA

  • Peter Weiden, MA

  • Ryan Kaitz, NC

* Upgraded Membership Level

HSNY Announces "Timepieces for HSNY: 2023 Charity Auction" Presented by Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo

Online July 6 -11

The Horological Society of New York (HSNY) announces today “Timepieces for HSNY: 2023 Charity Auction”, presented online by Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo from July 6-11, 2023.

HSNY’s annual charity auction, whose sale proceeds benefit the Society’s ongoing mission of advancing the art and science of horology, will feature a variety of wristwatches, a wall clock, and a set of signed books from top watchmaking brands. A ‘No Reserve’ policy will apply to all lots, encouraging auction-goers to bid generously.

Lot items from “Timepieces for HSNY: 2023 Charity Auction” include:

  • LOT 1 — F.P.Journe Signed Books. A collection of six brand new and highly coveted books on independent watchmaking, all signed personally by François-Paul Journe. Generously donated by F.P.Journe.

  • LOT 2 — H. Moser & Cie. “Streamliner” Wall Clock. A brand new Aluminum Quartz “Streamliner” Wall Clock. Generously donated by H. Moser & Cie.

  • LOT 3 — Oris: Big Crown Calibre 473. A brand new stainless steel wristwatch with blue lacquer dial, date, five-day power reserve, warranty and presentation box. Generously donated by Oris.

  • LOT 4 — NOMOS Glashütte: Tangomat GMT Plus Glass Back. A brand new stainless steel world time wristwatch with GMT indicator, date, warranty card, setting pin and presentation box. Generously donated by NOMOS Glashütte.

  • LOT 5 — Jaeger-LeCoultre: Reverso Classic Medium Thin. A brand new stainless steel reversible wristwatch with warranty and presentation box, and complimentary personalization on the reverse side of the case through Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Reverso Engraving Services. Generously donated by Jaeger-LeCoultre.

  • LOT 6 — Laurent Ferrier: Bridge One. A brand new stainless steel rectangular-shaped wristwatch with certificate and presentation box. Generously donated by Laurent Ferrier. 

“We’re excited to be offering six incredible lots for our 2023 auction,” said Carolina Navarro, HSNY Deputy Director. “Thanks to the generosity of our donors and the talents of Phillips, we hope to raise as much money as possible to meet our mission and provide financial aid to watchmaking students.”

Paul Boutros, Phillips’ Deputy Chairman and Head of Watches, Americas, adds, “We are honored and delighted to once again support HSNY’s efforts that continue to advance watchmaking science and culture in the United States. One hundred percent of the proceeds from the sale of each watch, including Phillips’ buyers’ premium, will benefit HSNY’s educational programs, scholarships, and watchmaking school awards.”

In April 2023, HSNY held its annual Gala & Awards Ceremony — a tradition that dates back to the Society’s start in 1866 — where Phillips’ Watches Head of Sale & International Specialist, Vice President, Isabella Proia auctioned off the Society’s 2023 lifetime membership card for a record-breaking $20,000. Thanks to the success of last year’s auction, HSNY also awarded $125,000 in financial aid to 20 watchmaking students and four U.S. watchmaking schools during the gala.

Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo will be hosting viewings of “Timepieces for HSNY: 2023 Charity Auction” by appointment only from July 6-11. To schedule an appointment please contact watchesny@phillips.com. Happy bidding!

Download the Phillips app to browse, track, save and bid on “Timepieces for HSNY: 2023 Charity Auction”. Images courtesy of Phillips.

* MEDIA AND PRIVATE PREVIEWS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST *

 
 

About Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo
Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo is the watch department at Phillips auction house, dedicated exclusively to the world's finest collectors' watches. Launched in November 2014 by Aurel Bacs and his partner, Livia Russo, the department was established in response to the ever-increasing need for today's collectors to easily access scholarship, guidance and quality across the board. Based in New York, Geneva, London, Hong Kong and Japan, the team of specialists at Phillips Watches is dedicated to an uncompromised approach to quality, transparency and client service. Over the course of 2021 and 2022, the company sold 100% of the watches offered, a first in the industry, resulting in the highest annual total in history across all the auction houses at $227 million.In 2019, the auction house opened Phillips PERPETUAL, a private sale program with physical and digital storefronts that offers a highly curated selection of watches sold at fixed prices.

Official website: www.phillips.com/watches 

About the Horological Society of New York
Founded in 1866, the Horological Society of New York (HSNY) is one of the oldest continuously operating horological associations in the world. Today, HSNY is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the art and science of horology through education. Members are a diverse mix of watchmakers, clockmakers, executives, journalists, auctioneers, historians, salespeople and collectors, reflecting the rich nature of horology in New York City and around the world.

Official website: https://hs-ny.org

Reading Time at HSNY: Time Traveling for the Summer

This post is part of a series, Reading Time at HSNY, written by our librarian, Miranda Marraccini. 

Whether you’re traveling this summer or opting for a staycation, the Horological Society of New York (HSNY) has something horological to satisfy your globetrotting impulses.

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If you’re in New York City, come by to travel the world through our postcard collection. Most of you are familiar with our books–many of which I’ve highlighted in past posts in the “Reading Time at HSNY” series. But we also have a comprehensive archive of about 1,200 postcards from horological museums and sites all over the world–all courtesy of our generous benefactor, Fortunat Mueller-Maerki! 

Mueller-Maerki, who was raised in Switzerland and moved to the U.S. as an adult, collected these postcards one by one on individual trips and as a leader of horological study tours over several decades. Most of the postcards come from the horological hotbeds you’d expect: Switzerland, England, France, Germany and America. But there are also some surprising locales including Argentina and the Czech Republic.

Interestingly, Mueller-Maerki also amassed vintage postcards that people had already addressed and sent. One of my favorites shows possibly the most famous clock in the world, London’s Big Ben (see images 1-2). It’s not dated, but the one-penny stamp that the postcard writer used dates it from the reign of King Edward VII (1902-1913). A lady named Edith sent this postcard to her friend Blanche in Denver, Colorado (Wilfred Jurgens in the address is the friend’s husband’s name).

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You might notice that the caption reads “LONDON - The Houses of Parliament. - The Clock Tower.” Big Ben was never officially called Big Ben, and in fact that nickname first referred to the bell inside the tower, rather than the clock. The tower itself was simply known as “the Clock Tower.” Edith doesn’t mention any of these facts in her note. She’s preoccupied with the practicalities of travel (“we sail tomorrow”), health (“we are very well”), and her friends and family back home (“Marjorie sends a kiss to Mary”). She signs the postcard “Lovingly, Edith.” In Edith’s story, the famous clock is just a pretext for her to send her love. I like to imagine her coming back to her friend, a married woman, and telling her breathlessly about the sights and sounds of her overseas adventure. Here at HSNY’s Jost Bürgi Research Library we have an entire section of old and modern books dedicated to Big Ben, so if you want more information than Edith provides, please stop by.

In 1952, a different woman sent a postcard featuring an English clock tower to her married friend in Denver, this time from Buenos Aires (images 3-4). This postcard is in our collection because it features the Torre Monumental, another famous clocktower, at the time known as Torre de los Ingleses ("Tower of the English.") British citizens living in Buenos Aires funded the construction of the tower, hired a British architect, and imported engineers and construction materials to build it. 

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While public clocks are a frequent subject of postcards, a number of our cards show watch factories. Image 5 shows both sides of a postcard from the German town of Schwenningen, “the largest clock city in the world,” according to its caption. The front shows the Kienzle factory in the town, which, among other things, manufactured timing devices for Germany and the Axis powers during World War II.

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According to the postmark, someone sent this on April 14, 1958. Although the factory depicted is large, it still looks like a fairly traditional building, with its pitched roof and curved eyebrow dormers.

Our American postcards, in contrast, show off the features of the mega-factories of America: Elgin (image 6), Hamilton (image 7) and Waltham (image 8). The Elgin and Waltham images are from the turn of the 20th century, while the Hamilton picture dates from around 1940. Compare the scale of the building above in Germany’s “clock city” in 1958 with the behemoth city-sized factories in America, some of which were built 50 years earlier.

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At the beginning of the 20th century, American watch manufacturing was booming, thanks to a series of developments in standardization and mechanization, the “American System”. Below the image of the Waltham factory in Massachusetts, the postcard’s sender has written “Does this look natural?” which could be a private joke, but could also be an ironic remark about how industrialization had changed the area. Although there are still some trees, and the Waltham building is a bit more residential looking, it is not natural at all. It’s the height of technological innovation for the time.

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Image 9 features a decidedly groovier watch building, the Elgin pavilion at the New York World’s Fair in 1939. On the reverse of the card, there's barely enough room for a message from the sender, given all the advertising copy. According to this card, the Elgin Watch Building hosted “a fully equipped astronomical observatory and watch museum…an animated puppet style show” and a service where “watches of visitors are rated for accuracy, without charge.” There’s even a pre-printed “handwritten” message, in cursive, that reads, “P.S. I’ve just seen how time is taken from the stars. It’s exciting. Take my advice and make the Elgin Watch Building the starting point for all your World’s Fair sightseeing. It’s so conveniently located.” That’s a convincing pitch!

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Even with all this promotional text, the sender of this postcard managed to cram in a message to his “sweetie” that mentions visiting the Empire State Building, seeing the ship the Queen Mary, going to the hottest musical revue on Broadway, “Hellzapoppin”, and visiting a musical swimming show at the World’s Fair, “Billy Rose’s Aquacade” (image 10). An exhausting slate of events for one visit to New York! The writer, named Farley, takes a maximalist approach to the space he’s allotted, unlike Edith, who preferred to save her thoughts on Big Ben to relate in person.

Hopefully these postcards are a reminder to document your journeys, even the mundane ones, since you never know who’s going to be reading about them in the far-off future at some library on Mars. For now, from all of us at HSNY, we hope you have a great summer full of horology, relaxation, and adventure!

HSNY Opens New Exhibit "Pocket Genius: The Watch Collection of Alex Ku"

On Display June — December 2023

The Horological Society of New York (HSNY) announces today the opening of a new exhibit, “Pocket Genius: The Watch Collection of Alex Ku.” The exhibit, which will be on view from June through December 2023, features over 50 timepieces capturing the scope and genius of some of history’s most prominent watchmakers.

Louis Chanson, perpetual calendar

“Pocket Genius” explores the evolution of timepieces ranging from time-only pocket watches to inventive escapements, gem-encrusted cases and highly complicated pieces. 

The exhibit highlights timepieces dating from the 1690s to the 1990s, examining the role that watches have played in society, from their use in navigation and timekeeping to their use as status symbols and works of art. Highlights include a dumb quarter-repeating jump-hour pocket watch by Abraham-Louis Breguet, a co-axial escapement by Charles Fasoldt, complicated timepieces like Louis Chanson’s skeletonized perpetual calendar with a lunar indicator, and enameled masterpieces by Patek Philippe for Tiffany & Co. 

Charles Fasoldt, co-axial escapement

The collection is on loan from Alex Ku, a California-based watch aficionado. Although Ku has only been collecting watches for seven years, he has amassed a curated arsenal of some of the most important and impressive watches in horological history.

Abraham-Louis Breguet, c. 1800

Patek Philippe for Tiffany & Co., c. 1890

“To carry a pocket watch crafted by a historical master watchmaker is to feel that you hold a piece of horological history in your hand,” said Ku. “For many pieces in my collection, the mission to discover their stories really began only after acquiring them. I’m proud to share pieces from my collection for all to view and learn from, as I have.” 

The exhibit, on display at HSNY’s Jost Bürgi Research Library, is divided into four sections: “Historical Watchmakers,” “Escapements,” “Complications” and “Aesthetics.” Bonus material includes a George Daniels co-axial escapement model, on loan from British independent watchmaker and Daniels protegee Roger W. Smith OBE.

Roger Smith visits the “Pocket Genius” exhibit and poses alongside his George Daniels co-axial escapement model.

“The watches in this exhibit represent the pinnacle of watchmaking craftsmanship and are a testament to the ingenuity of the human mind,” said Nicholas Manousos, HSNY Executive Director. “I extend my sincere thanks to Alex Ku for his vision in collecting important pocket watches and for his enthusiasm in making this exhibit happen.”

The exhibit is accompanied by a fully illustrated catalog, which includes macro photography by Atom Moore and Collector Notes from Ku. The catalog is available for purchase in-person and online at hs-ny.org/shop. Proceeds from the sales go towards meeting HSNY’s mission of advancing the art and science of horology.

“Pocket Genius” is open to the public Monday through Friday from 10AM to 5PM. Admission is free. Learn more at https://hs-ny.org/exhibits.

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ABOUT THE HOROLOGICAL SOCIETY OF NEW YORK

Founded in 1866, the Horological Society of New York (HSNY) is one of the oldest continuously operating horological associations in the world. Today, HSNY is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the art and science of horology through education. Members are a diverse mix of watchmakers, clockmakers, executives, journalists, auctioneers, historians, salespeople and collectors, reflecting the rich nature of horology in New York City and around the world.

http://hs-ny.org

Welcoming New HSNY Members, April 2023

HSNY would like to welcome the following new members. It is only with our members' support that we are able to continue flourishing as America's oldest watchmaking guild and advancing the art and science of horology every day. 

GOLD

  • David Wertheimer, NY

  • Jeremy Rishel, CA

SILVER

  • Scott Kaplan, NY

BRONZE

  • Alex Nguyen, CA

  • Bartosz Dabrowski, CA

  • BK Kapella, GA

  • Bruce Wiseman, WA

  • Brydon Clark, CA

  • Burton King, NY

  • David Lopez, CT

  • David Riley, NY

  • Eric Jo, NJ

  • Grant Fletcher Oliver, CA

  • Harry Hornby, United Kingdom

  • Hok Hin Chan, Hong Kong

  • Jasdev Singh, NJ

  • Jonathan Smith, CA

  • Matthew J. Short, MO

  • Michael Brown, AL

  • Nicholas Mitchell, MD

  • Nomi Claire Lazar, Canada

  • Robert Anders, NY

  • Sean Sullivan, NY

  • Sebastian Zar, NY

  • Tristan King, NY

  • William Huff, MD

* Upgraded Membership Level

HSNY Welcomes Piaget as a Sponsor

The Horological Society of New York (HSNY) announces Swiss luxury watchmaker Piaget has joined as a sponsor.

Founded in 1874 from his first workshop in La Côte-aux-Fées, Georges-Edouard Piaget devoted himself to crafting high-precision movements in a feat that formed the very foundations of the brand. In the late 1950s, Piaget unveiled the ultra-thin movements that would later become the Maison’s trademark and the cornerstone of the Altiplano collection. An innovator of the watch and jewelry world, Piaget continues to lean on its creativity and artistic values. 

Support from Piaget helps HSNY to meet its mission of advancing the art and science of horology. 

HSNY welcomes Piaget and thanks them for their incredible support!

# # #


ABOUT THE HOROLOGICAL SOCIETY OF NEW YORK

Founded in 1866, the Horological Society of New York (HSNY) is one of the oldest continuously operating horological associations in the world. Today, HSNY is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the art and science of horology through education. Members are a diverse mix of watchmakers, clockmakers, executives, journalists, auctioneers, historians, salespeople and collectors, reflecting the rich nature of horology in New York City and around the world.
http://hs-ny.org

Upcoming Lecture: The Colour of Hours: Race, Time and the Making of a Black Horologist in Harlem

Dr. Paul Lawrie, Associate Professor, Department of History, York University (Toronto, Canada)
June 5, 2023

Time — much like race — possesses an ostensible ‘naturalism’ which often obscures the various historical factors which went into its making. Dr. Paul Lawrie’s research asks if time is indeed relative — as something born of specific historical contingencies — then how do different peoples experience time differently? Moreover, how does the lived experience of time create or reinforce racial inequality within cities? Time and race intersected to inform the landscape of modern urban America in a number of ways: from curfews and commutes to time work management and timekeeping itself.

At the June lecture of the Horological Society of New York, Dr. Paul Lawrie, Associate Professor, Department of History, York University, will examine the remarkable life of one Peter J. Huffstead — Harlem's self-described "master clockmaker" — and one of the earliest Black members of the Horological Society of New York. An analysis of Huffstead's career reveals key insights into the racialized nature of expertise, migration, the politics of respectability and the making of urban community in early 20th century America. Positing time as a past, present and future agent of urban development and racial identity, this lecture presents new perspectives into the spatial and temporal dynamics of urban race relations from the assembly line to the city streets. 

*Doors open at 6PM ET, lecture to begin at 7PM ET. RSVP is required.

** The lecture video will be available to members immediately, and to the general public following a two-month delay.