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Inside the James Arthur Collection: A Patek Philippe Grand Complication

  • HSNY at the General Society Library 20 West 44th Street New York, NY, 10036 United States (map)

Roland Murphy, American Watchmaker, Founder of RGM Watch Company (Mount Joy, PA)

Video recordings of lectures are available immediately to HSNY members, and the general public with a two-month delay.

In the mid-1990s the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors (NAWCC) Museum asked American watchmaker Roland Murphy to repair a Patek Philippe Grand Complication — an important timepiece in the James Arthur collection. They were making a video and needed the repeater mechanism to function. Additionally, photographs were taken during the repair and restoration process to give a glimpse inside the extremely rare and complicated watch.

The 35mm negatives were recently scanned and were shared for the first time in the spring of 2023. At the November lecture of the Horological Society of New York (HSNY), Murphy will share the scans and his experience of repairing one of the most important watches in horological history.

*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.


About Roland Murphy

Roland attended Bowman Technical School in Lancaster, PA in the early 1980s. In 1986 he furthered his watchmaking training in Switzerland at the Watchmakers of Switzerland Training and Educational Program (WOSTEP). He has also trained at Audemars Piguet, ETA, and Girard Perregaux. After WOSTEP he was hired by SMH to work in product development as technical manager for the Hamilton Watch Co. He remained there until he started RGM Watch Co. in 1992.

Many of his ideas come from his vast knowledge and love of watchmaking, watch history, and from his many years of restoring watches which he still enjoys doing to this day.