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The National Watch & Clock Museum

he National Association of Watch & Clock Collectors, Inc. the world. Today, watches with the Hamilton brand continue to be
(NAWCC) formed in 1943 when three watch collectors produced by the Swatch Group, a Swiss watchmaking company.
Tformed the organization then called The Watch Collectors
Club. Once they added “Collectors” to the name, its membership Ending in October:
grew exponentially and today boasts over 10,000 members world- Carriage Clocks
wide. They are committed to “being the world leader, educator, and This temporary exhibit at the
advocate for horology and for everyone interested in timepieces and National Watch & Clock Museum
the art and science of timekeeping” according to their website, presents more than 50 carriage clocks
www.nawcc.org. To that end, they created the National Watch and from prominent carriage clock manu-
Clock Museum in Columbia, Pennsylvania. facturing countries: England, France,
The Museum houses the largest collection of international time- the United States, and Switzerland,
pieces in North America. Along with the collection, they maintain plus several from other countries.
the largest horological research library, offer workshops, conduct Carriage clocks with a diversity of
symposiums, meetings, and annual conventions, and more. The materials, styles, and artistry
Museum’s collection includes over 13,000 timekeeping examples are featured in this special exhibit for
from around the world, including a German table clock c. 1570. the 80th anniversary of
the NAWCC.
On Exhibit – Public Time Clocks
As you move through the gallery, you will see public clocks from Buying Time
around the world that were built for various forms, such as a steeple, Also at the Museum is the Jeweler’s Shop Gallery which is
a wall, or a post. These clocks are the most robust of all timekeepers, designed to replicate a store from the early 1900s. While jewelry
designed to run in the harshest environmental conditions. stores sold a variety of horological items, including high-end watches,
Despite their utilitarian function, their cast-iron frames are sur- the general store was a good place to buy more affordable dollar pock-
prisingly decorative, and visitors can experience the hypnotic action et watches and household clocks. Jewelers and other merchants who
of the escapements and various remontoirs that run daily. sold timekeepers rarely bought their inventory directly from the fac-
tories, instead purchasing via trade catalogs or through middlemen
Time in Lancaster, PA called jobbers.
The railroad gave Lancaster Shop windows provided an excellent opportunity to advertise a
easy access to raw materials and store’s most eye-catching timepieces, and the Jeweler’s Shop gallery
transported goods and people window is no exception. Skeleton clocks by international makers
to and from major cities such reside in this window, showcasing their intricate inner workings and
as Philadelphia, Baltimore, and beautiful decorative motifs.
New York. In 1874, the
Adams & Perry Watch The Engle Clock
Mfg. Co. built a factory in Of special note in within the museum’s collection is the Engle
Lancaster specifically for Clock – a piece of true Americana. After spending 70 years touring
making watches. While watch the Eastern United States being promoted as the “8th Wonder of
production had a rocky start in the World,” this 1,049-lb marvel
Central Pennsylvania, it hit its disappeared from public view in
stride when Hamilton arrived 1951. It was rediscovered in a barn
on the scene. in the 1980s, and painstakingly
The Hamilton Watch Co. restored by NAWCC staff and
was founded in 1892 when volunteers. It is now demonstrated
Keystone Watch Co. merged with the Illinois-based Aurora Watch Co. every day for Museum visitors at
Hamilton had manufactured 143 distinct grades of watch move- noon and 2 p.m., featuring not just
ments by 1967. The first Hamilton watch was a large railroad model time-telling but music, moving
created to meet the specifications of the Time Inspection Rules estab- carved figures, with reminders that
lished by the railroads. By the turn of the 20th century, Hamilton’s time is indeed fleeting.
product was widely known as the Railroad Timekeeper of America. This marvel of clockwork was
With the onset of World War II, the Navy needed chronometers built by Stephen Decatur Engle and
in great quantities, and Hamilton began delivering them in February measures 11 feet high, 8 feet wide,
1942. During the next year, Hamilton increased production to 500 and 3 feet deep. Among its mechan-
chronometers per month—an amazing achievement and a triumph of ical features are two organ move-
American enterprise. ments, 48 moving figures, and a new
Hamilton has the distinction of being the only US watch company type of tellurian (patented by Engle)
to survive global competition well into the late 1900s. The efforts and that illustrates the positions of the
talents of Hamilton employees and management combined to create moon, constellations, and zodiac
high-quality products that are still appreciated by collectors all over
relative to the rotating earth.

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