Evan Hilgemann, Mechanical Engineer at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California

A technical issue caused the video recording of this lecture to be lost. We sincerely apologize for this happening.

The surface of Venus is one of the most inhospitable places in the solar system. It features sulfuric acid clouds, temperatures over 450°C, and a pressure 92 times that of the surface of Earth. Only a handful of probes have successfully reached the surface, and even then only survived for about two hours before their electronics failed in the hostile environment. At the December 9, 2019, meeting of the Horological Society of New York, Evan Hilgemann will discuss a potential solution for exploring Venus. The solution comes from 16th century automatons, which were mechanical devices capable of performing a series of complex actions to achieve a specific result. The Automaton Rover for Extreme Environments (AREE), would replace vulnerable electronic systems with a mechanical design, including a mechanical timekeeper. By utilizing high temperature alloys the rover would survive for months, allowing it to collect and return valuable long-term science data from the surface of Venus. This science data would be critical for informing and improving models of dynamic planetary systems. To implement AREE, “steampunk” science fiction meets spacecraft technology in a unique rover that must be robust and able to operate during its entire mission without human intervention.

About Evan Hilgemann

Evan Hilgemann is a mechanical engineer at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. In his current position he splits time between operating the Mars rover Curiosity and developing novel robotic methods to explore some of the hottest and coldest places in the solar system. Previously, he contributed to various spacecraft deployable systems and co-led a explorative study to place a long duration rover on the surface of Venus. Evan is drawn to this field by the inherent sense of exploration and adventure, and he enjoys sharing the thrill of space exploration with others. In addition to his day job, Evan moonlights as a telescope operator and science educator at the Griffith Observatory. Evan earned an M.S. degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Michigan and a B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

David E. Walter, F.B.H.I., Independent Horologist & Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers, Santa Barbara, California

What does it mean to be independent in the world of horology? There are many answers to this question, from brands that are vertically integrated, to smaller companies with limited production. The strictest definition is one watch or clock maker, working alone to make their own timepieces. At the November 4, 2019, meeting of the Horological Society of New York, David E. Walter will lecture on his experiences working as an independent horologist. Walter certainly meets the strict definition of an independent horologist. A Liveryman of London's Worshipful Company of Clockmakers, Walter lives and works in Santa Barbara, California. From Perth to London, Vienna to Perth, then to California, Walter will provide insights on what it takes to be a truly independent horologist in today's world.

About David E. Walter

David E. Walter was born in Perth, Western Australia. His career in horology has spanned more than half a century and taken him around the world. During the 1970s he began constructing clocks and is today considered one of the most accomplished independent clockmakers of his time. Among Walter’s many technical achievements is a double pendulum table clock made as an homage to Antide Janvier, as well as several wall and floor mounted double pendulum clocks. Walter recently completed an exhibition tourbillon carriage clock reminiscent of Abraham-Louis Breguet. In addition, Walter has begun producing wrist and pocket watches. Walter is a Liveryman of London's Worshipful Company of Clockmakers, and was awarded the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors’ (NAWCC) 2018 Dana J. Blackwell Clock Award, as well as two People's Choice and two first place awards in the 2002 and 2012 NAWCC craft competitions.

Maria & Richard Habring, Founders of Habring Uhrentechnik OG Völkermarkt, Austria

Maria and Richard Habring's approach to manufacturing affordable, high quality mechanical watches in small series contrasts with their former jobs working for large watch companies. At the beginning of their brand, Habring², they relied on outsourced movements and components. But with the Swatch Group / ETA beginning to restrict supply of movements to third parties, Habring² needed to begin manufacturing their own movements. In 2014 on the tenth anniversary of the brand, they presented the Felix, powered by their proprietary A11 movement. At the October 7, 2019, meeting of the Horological Society of New York, Maria and Richard Habring will discuss how Habring² developed the A11 movement, from conception to final design. The Habrings will not only speak about the technical development process, but also the financial aspects of developing a mechanical watch movement.

About Maria and Richard Habring

Maria and Richard Habring are founders and owners of Habring². The Habrings left Saxony, Germany, to found Austria's first modern watch brand and fulfill a dream. The Habrings could be described as the organic farmers of the watch industry, as they focus on making the best watches they can while establishing long-term partnerships with local suppliers. Sustainability, responsibility, ecology and fairness are the factors the Habring’s success is built on, rather than profit and return on investment. While Habring² does not have celebrity endorsements or glossy advertisements, they do have award-winning watches. Maria and Richard Habring are the first independent watchmakers to win four trophies from the Oscars of the watch industry, the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Geneve.

Robert C. Cheney, Executive Director of the Willard House and Clock Museum

As the most complicated trade in 18th century America, clock making relied heavily on a finely divided shop structure to produce domestic timekeepers. Cabinetmakers, carvers, gilders, dial makers, painters and at least seventeen different metal-working trades all joined forces to capture the fervor of nouveau riche Americans to mimic fine English interiors with locally produced furniture, silver, portraiture and clocks to fill elegant new homes. At the September 10, 2019, meeting of the Horological Society of New York, Robert C. Cheney will discuss the fascinating history of Simon Willard eight-day clocks. Previous scholarship by Cheney has documented a little known, but extensive trade in Liverpool and Birmingham goods to supply Willard and others with most of the materials and components needed to fill the needs of an emerging American market. Cheney's HSNY lecture will widen the importance of Liverpool and Birmingham for American clock production and discuss how Willard began to recreate English methodology in Boston by 1800.

About Robert C. Cheney

Robert C. Cheney of Brimfield, Massachusetts is a third-generation clockmaker and a nationally recognized authority on early American clocks. He has served as a conservator and consultant for nearly fifty museums including Old Sturbridge Village, Worcester Art Museum, The American Antiquarian Society, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and has served on the Boards of the National Watch and Clock Museum, the American Clock and Watch Museum and the Willard House and Clock Museum.

Cheney is the co-author of Clock Making in New England, 1725-1825, numerous articles, book reviews, and during his tenure as Scholar in Residence at the Concord Museum, he wrote Roxbury Movements and the English Connection, 1785-1825, for the Magazine Antiques. This thesis was horological heresy when first published in April 2000, but now cited throughout both the horological and decorative arts world. Cheney has also lectured extensively on many aspects of horology and scientific instruments in the United States, Canada and the U.K. After a 35-year career of self-employment and a decade as the founder and head of the "Clocks, Watches and Scientific Instruments" Department at Skinner Inc., Boston, he currently serves as Executive Director and Curator of the Willard House and Clock Museum, in Grafton, Massachusetts. Robert Cheney is a Silver Star Fellow of the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors.

About The Willard House and Clock Museum

The Willard House and Clock Museum in North Grafton, Massachusetts, is the birthplace and homestead of Simon, Benjamin, Aaron and Ephraim Willard, probably the best-known family of American clockmakers during the 18th and early 19th century. The homestead includes the only 18th century clock workshop still standing on its original foundation in America, together with period tools and equipment needed to produce the most complicated device found in early homes. The Museum galleries include a wide assortment of Willard family furnishings and portraits, the 1802 patent document for the "Patent Timepiece" or "banjo" clock, Thomas Jefferson drawings, and 87 masterpiece-level Willard clocks, timepieces and Goddard watches. The Museum will celebrate its 50th birthday in 2021.

Joseph Kirk, Brand Curator and National Trainer for Grand Seiko Corporation of America

Spring Drive is a movement technology developed in-house by Seiko Epson, formerly known as Suwa Seikosha, in the Nagano Prefecture of Japan. Development of the technology started in 1977, and debuted in 1999 in limited quantity in Japan. In 2004, Spring Drive became available globally in Seiko, Credor and Grand Seiko watches. At the June 3, 2019, meeting of the Horological Society of New York, Joseph Kirk will discuss the many hurdles that Seiko overcame with Spring Drive before it could be introduced to the world.

Spring Drive movements combine the best aspects of mechanical watchmaking, such as the power source of a wound mainspring, along with a unique regulating system as its escapement. The precision of a quartz oscillator and an electromagnetic braking system provide extremely high accuracy and unidirectional motion, with no collision. This is solely achieved with the mechanical energy derived from the mainspring, eliminating any need for a battery. The end result is a spring driven watch that achieves quartz like accuracy. This unique movement type expresses time unlike others, with a completely continuous gliding seconds hand with no sweep or tick.

About Joseph Kirk

Joseph Kirk is the Brand Curator and National Trainer for Grand Seiko Corporation of America. Kirk has worked in the watch industry for nearly 15 years, in different formats. His knowledge of Spring Drive was gained through hands-on experience with the movements, and with the help of many watchmakers from the manufacturer itself.

Special Guest: Kazunori Hoshino will be in attendance from the Seiko Epson manufacturer, located in Shiojiri, Nagano Prefecture, Japan. Hoshino began his career with Seiko Epson in 1996 after studying industrial design in engineering at Chiba University. His most notable work includes movement design aesthetics for the renowned Micro Artist Studio movements such as the Credor Eichi II, Grand Seiko 8 Day 9R01, and new Grand Seiko 9R02 caliber.

Special Guest: Akio Naito, Chairman and CEO of Grand Seiko Corporation of America, will be in attendance. In addition to his work at Grand Seiko Corporation of America, Naito oversees the rest of the Americas and European market for both the Grand Seiko and Seiko businesses. Naito also serves concurrently as Senior Executive Vice President for Seiko Watch Corporation, Chairman of Seiko UK Ltd., as well as a member of the Board of Directors for Seiko’s subsidiaries in France and the Netherlands. Naito brings over 35 years of dedication to the well-known international watchmaking enterprise, having held leadership roles also in Australia and Japan.

Anna Rolls, Curator of the Clockmakers Museum, London

The time ball at the Royal Observatory Greenwich in London marks 1:00pm daily when it drops from the top of its mast. Installed in 1833, the ball was one of the earliest public time signals, offering an improved service for mariners who could rate their chronometers directly on-board ship in the adjacent reaches of the River Thames. It is now one of the many accessioned objects in the collections of the Royal Museums Greenwich. It is integral to the fabric of Flamsteed House, a scheduled ancient monument, and is powered by 20th century engineering and timed by 21st century electronics. As such it is one of the more complex objects to look after within a museum environment. At the May, 2019, meeting of the Horological Society of New York, Anna Rolls will discuss the history of the time ball, the evolution of its mechanical operation and the challenges it has faced in its transition from an observatory instrument to a working museum attraction.

About Anna Rolls

Anna Rolls has been working as the Curator of the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers Museum and Archive since September 2018. She looks after a collection composed of over 1000 watches, as well as clocks, chronometers and other horological ephemera, which is based in the Science Museum London. Prior to this, Anna was employed for nine years as a conservator of metalwork and scientific instruments at the Royal Museums Greenwich, where she worked alongside the horological department and commenced her training with the British Horological Institute’s Distance Learning Course. Anna graduated in 2008 from the University of Sussex with a MA in Conservation Studies and has a Postgraduate Diploma in Conservation of Fine Metalwork from West Dean. Anna is an active and visible member of the Antiquarian Horological Society.

The Horological Society of New York invites you to celebrate its 153rd year at the 2019 Gala and Charity Auction on Wednesday April 17, 2019. The annual Gala and Charity Auction is an opportunity to look back at our accomplishments, recognize talented watchmaking students, and bid on incredible watches and ephemera. Join us as we celebrate New York's horological tradition!

Full information, including auction lots, award presentations and program are available on our dedicated 2019 Gala & Charity Auction page.

Eric Wind, Owner of Wind Vintage

With the explosive growth in interest and values for vintage watches in recent years, how can new collectors successfully navigate and enjoy the world of vintage watches? The field of vintage watches is in an interesting place with more minefields than ever in the realm of collecting, a staggering amount of animosity on social media and watch fora, and a concerning lack of curiosity around new watch scholarship today. At the March 4, 2019, meeting of the Horological Society of New York, Eric Wind will discuss the common mistakes he sees beginning collectors making and also will raise important questions for the collector community to discuss, including restoration, tracking provenance, third-party grading and watch registries, how to educate those interested in acquiring vintage watches, and the future of the market.

About Eric Wind

Eric Wind is the owner of Wind Vintage, which he started in 2017 to buy and sell vintage watches as well as educate and advise watch collectors. He previously served as Vice President, Senior Specialist of Watches for Christie’s from 2015 to 2017. Prior to that, Eric was one of the earliest contributors to HODINKEE, starting writing about vintage watches for the site in 2010. Eric is considered a leading authority on the vintage watch market today, bringing together a collector’s perspective with insider knowledge from being a dealer and having worked for an auction house. Eric holds a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service from Georgetown University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Oxford. 

Joshua Shapiro, Watchmaker and Owner of J.N. Shapiro Watches

The engine-turning technique (guilloché in French) has produced some of the most mesmerizing dials in the history of clock and watch making. Makers such as Breguet, Daniels, Smith, Voutilainen and Murphy have perpetuated this horological art form to the present day. At the same time, much of the history of engine-turning is little-known. At the February 4, 2019, meeting of the Horological Society of New York, Joshua Shapiro will discuss the history and technique of engine-turning.

Shapiro's lecture will delve into the mysteries of engine-turning, beginning with an in-depth look at exactly how engine-turning is done and the differences between the three different types of engine-turning machines. The history of engine-turning will be discussed, as well as the differences between modern and traditional techniques. The lecture will also feature video of engine-turning through a microscope, giving attendees an engine-turning experience from a rarely seen perspective.

About Joshua Shapiro

Joshua Shapiro, owner of J.N. Shapiro Watches, is a watchmaker based in Los Angeles, CA. Shapiro studied watchmaking through the British Horological Institute's distance learning program, apprenticed with the famous watch and clock maker David Walter, and now specializes in engine-turning. Shapiro's engine-turned dials are among the most intricate in the world, and include completely new and unique patterns. His recent "infinity weave" fractal pattern is a basketweave within a basketweave, taking one week to hand engrave just the sub-seconds area on a dial. In addition to watchmaking, Shapiro works as a high school principal, and holds a B.A. from UCLA and an M.A. from CSUN both in history.

Due to unforeseen circumstances, Kelly Yoch's lecture at HSNY has been postponed. Instead, HSNY will show George Daniels' lecture on the co-axial escapement at the American Watchmakers-Clockmakers Institute from 1990. HSNY apologizes for the inconvenience.

Kelly Yoch, Senior Patek Philippe Consultant for North America at Tiffany & Co.

Please note the special date, due to the New Year holiday. Free tickets are required to attend.

Doors open at 6PM. Lecture begins promptly at 7PM.

Individually, Patek Philippe and Tiffany & Co. are legendary luxury institutions whose names alone spark the imagination. This reputation and fame comes from almost 200 years of dedication to luxury and quality. What many people don't know is that the relationship between these two giants began almost as soon as they were founded. At the January 8, 2019, meeting of the Horological Society of New York, Kelly Yoch will discuss how this relationship has grown through the years, how it continues to get stronger and produce special collaborations, and what may come in the future.

About Kelly Yoch

Kelly Yoch is the Senior Patek Philippe Consultant for North America at Tiffany & Co. and was one of the first consultants hired at the Patek Philippe Mezzanine at Tiffany's legendary flagship 5th Ave address when it opened in 2008.  A graduate of Temple University, she is a world traveler on the hunt for meaningful souvenirs and interesting antiques. Kelly has built her career in luxury watches by becoming an internationally recognized expert in Patek Philippe, Cartier, and Rolex to name a few.

Watch Photos: Heritage Auctions