Horology Events

The calendar of all events (collector marts and education) is located on the National Watch & Clock Museum / National Association of Watch & Clock Collectors website, nawcc.org

2023 "Save the Dates"

February 16-18, Mid-Winter Regional Meeting - St. Augustine, Florida

Show and Tell. Please bring your new acquisitions or horological treasures to share what you know and ask questions to expand your knowledge. 


April 13-15, Southern Ohio Regional Meeting - Wilmington, Ohio

The Greenwich Observatory Clock that Changed Time Throughout the World and its Forgotten Creator. In the middle of the 19th Century, George Airy, the Astronomer Royal, saw the need to have a method of transmitting Greenwich Mean Time to various places in the U.K.  To this end he acquired a regulator clock for the Royal Observatory at Greenwich which not only would be the basis of timekeeping there but would be capable of transmitting the time instantaneously to any part of the Country as well as other places in the world.  This timekeeper would be the primary source of Greenwich Mean Time for 70 years.  Arguably, it was this clock that through the distribution of GMT caused GMT to be the de facto basis for timekeeping throughout the world. The story of this remarkable clock and its maker will be the subject of the presentation.

About the Presenter: Bob Pritzker has been a member of the NAWCC for 25 years.  He is a member of several Chapters and is a Past President of the British Horological Chapter (#159).  His interests in clocks and watches is quite varied.  Bob has enjoyed visiting many horological museums throughout the world and learning the stories of time and timekeepers. Repairing and reconstructing clocks is another way Bob enjoys horology.

July 13-16, The 80th Anniversary National Convention – Lancaster, PA & at the museum

The London Horological Engine Turners.

In 19th century London, the making of a watch required the work of many individuals, each practicing their own specialism. This presentation will discuss the engine turners of Clerkenwell and the links between their work and the watch case and dial making trades. Who were the engine turners, where did they come from and what machinery did they use? Where did they acquire their unique skills and, as the London horological trade declined, what happened to these workers and businesses?


About the Presenter: 

Seth Kennedy is a professional antiquarian horologist with over 20 years’ experience, based in London, England.  He repairs and restores antique pocket watches, both the movements and the cases.  Alongside this work he also makes complete pocket watch cases in silver or gold using mostly traditional methods.  These cases are each made individually to re-home antique movements in a period appropriate fashion.


The Convention has about 25 lectures and workshops and many will be of interest to scholars and collectors including a talk by Keith Scoby-Youngs at the Convention Banquet (registration required) on the conservation of the Westminster great clock, Big Ben. Your BH Chapter is helping to sponsor this and other educational events at the National Convention. 


2022 Past Lectures and Prior

February 18 – 19, 2022, Mid-Winter Regional - Lakeland, Florida

Philadelphia maker Robert Leslie by Rich Newman. Leslie  was in the forefront of invention and innovation of clock and watchmaking in the 18th century and was awarded the first clock and watch patents in America.  This updated presentation includes newly discovered watches and clocks from the 1790s including a chronometer and an amazing one-wheel clock made for President George Washington.  Newman, NAWCC Fellow & Chair Emeritus of the Board of Directors, has lectured at The Ward Francillon Time Symposium, National Conventions and Regional events, and has written over 20 articles on both clocks & watches for the Bulletin and other publications. He additionally hosts a website on colonial and early American watchmakers, www.colonialwatches.com to promote research and education.


April 7 – 9, 2022, Southern Ohio Regional - Wilmington, Ohio

Show & Tell; Presentation of watches in the upcoming exhibit at the National Convention, including several renaissance-era watches and alarms. 


June 23-26, 2022, NAWCC Annual Convention - Dayton, Ohio. 

Early Case Making; The Art of the Silversmith by Ken Rockwell.  Although a vast number of pocket watch cases were handmade in the 18th century, the craft is almost lost today. Insights, techniques, and tools for fabricating a case for an important 18th-century Thomas Tompion pocket watch movement will be discussed. Ken Rockwell is the 2013 NAWCC Pritchard Award Winner. He is also an accomplished gold and silversmith and has restored hundreds of antique watches. He has a BS from Southern Illinois University, an MS and a Master of Fine Arts from Florida State University.