Zoom Meetings 2020

Wednesday Evening, December 20, 2020. "The Striking System of the Chelsea Ship's Clock Bell Movement"

Nick Butt, a member of the Repair/Restoration Department at Chelsea Clock discuss the striking system of the Chelsea Ship's Bell movement. His talk will cover what the system is composed of, how parts are manufactured, how they work together, and how they are assembled. He will also provide useful tips on what to do and what not to do when diagnosing an issue with the striking system. 

Nick is a member of the Repair/Restoration Department at Chelsea Clock. He has been with the company since 2013. While there, he has apprenticed under Bob Ockenden and Bhupat Patel. He is also on the Board of Directors for AWCI as their Secretary and is also a member of the Clock Education Committee. 

Nick began his clock making journey by attending Berks Career and Tech Center in the Machinist/Toolmaker and CNC machining course. After graduation, he attended Berklee College of Music. Upon graduation, he re-entered the machining field and after an extensive interview process, began working for Chelsea Clock. Since then, he has been an active member in the local and national AWCI organization and has spoken at the NAWCC national convention.



https://vimeo.com/597379391

Wednesday Evening, November 18, 2020. "Watch Timing Equipment – What it Can and Can’t Do"

Jack Kurdzionak, FAWCI, CW 21, and manager of Eckcells Watch Material, Compton NH, discusses the history of adjusting and regulating watches and current developments in the industry. Some of the presentation will be technical, but he hopes audience participation and questions will guide the presentation to the interests of the audience.

Jack Kurdzionak, began repairing watches in the early 1970s. In 1987 he and his wife Terry opened The Watchmaker, a proverbial “mom and pop” shop with a few dozen watches for sale and a lot of watches to repair in Stoneham. Over the years, the operation grew, and the shop moved to larger quarters down the street which his son, David, now operates. Terry purchased a watch battery business from Werner Eckstein in 1998 and renamed it Eckcells. Over the course of a dozen years, she and Jack expanded that business to include watch material and watchmaker’s tools and supplies. Then, in 2012, they moved both business and residence to Campton, NH and registered the business as Quick-Fit LLC DBA Eckcells Watch Material. Eckcells is now the exclusive distributor for the Wellner L1 automatic watch cleaning machine and the largest distributor of Sellita watch material in the USA.

For the past twenty-five years, Jack, a nationally recognized speaker and horological writer has given presentations on varied topics including watch lubricants, Atmos clocks, watch material distribution, repair techniques, and shop management. Jack firmly believes that a professional watchmaker needs to continually learn and keep abreast of the industry. To that end he has studied watchmaking here in the USA, the UK, and Switzerland while traveling more than forty times to Europe for education and business.

Jack has served as president, director, secretary, and treasurer of both the MWCA and AWCI and is a Fellow of AWCI. For the past four years Jack has again been serving as the AWCI treasurer. His monthly column, “From the Workshop” has appeared in the Horological Times Magazine every month since 1996.

Wednesday Evening, September 30, 2020.  "Waltham Clock Co. History and Clock Production"

In 1890, Walter J. Dudley and Walter K. Menns began work on an electric (battery powered) clock in John Starks shop in Waltham, MA. They convinced a group of Natick, MA investors to form Waltham Electric Clock Company in New Hampshire on June 5, 1890. A factory was setup in Natick and 1st clock was sold in early 1891. In April 1891 a group of Natick investors took over the company and moved it back to John Stark’s shop Waltham; the Natick businessmen could not provide sufficient financial support to keep the company in Natick.

January 1893 Waltham Electric Clock Co. introduced a weight driven precision regulator clock, and American Waltham Watch Co. purchased an early regulator for the 1893 World’s Fair exhibit to control the watch making machinery. At the June 1894 annual meeting Waltham Electric Clock Company Board of Directors voted to change the company’s name to the Waltham Clock Company. The company quickly acquired a reputation for manufacturing high precision weight driven regulators.

November 1898, the Waltham Clock Company reorganized and elected new officers: John Stark, President; William Henry, Treasurer and Business Manager; and Thomas W. Shephard, Mechanical Superintendent. The company was ready to introduce a new Hall Clock designed by Mr. Henry and a new synchronized time system, and planned to offer a complete line of regulators, office, and marine clocks. This new partnership appeared very successful, because many newspaper articles and other publications highlighted the company’s success. Waltham Clock Co. chiming hall clocks became a big seller for the company along with large and small regulators and Willard banjo clocks.

The company continued until the death of William Henry in January 1913. After William Henry’s death John Stark and Thomas Shepherd purchased his interest of the business. In February 1914, John Stark and Thomas Shepherd felt the company required additional capital and sold the company to Waltham Watch Company.

Waltham Watch Co. increased its product offerings and maintained Waltham Clock Company as separate department to capitalize on its recognized name for quality. After Waltham Watch Co. 1925 reorganization the separate clock department was abolished.

Andy Dervan began collecting antique clock in 1997 and joined the NAWCC. He found clock collecting was a fascinating hobby, and his principle collecting interest is 19th and 20th Century weight driven clocks particularly banjo clocks. Researching the manufacturing histories of various makers and companies was more challenging than simply collecting; he has published many articles in NAWCC Watch and Clock Bulletin, American Clock and Watch Museum Electronic Timepiece Journal, and Clocks Magazine. In 2011, he retired from DuPont Performance Coating and now volunteers at Henry Ford Museum, runs a clock appraisal business, and continues his horological research. In 2011, he became an NAWCC Fellow, in 2016 he was awarded NAWCC James W. Gibbs Literary Award, and in 2017 he became an NAWCC Star Fellow.

Wednesday Evening, August 12, 2020. "An Overview of Escapements"

Jon Weber has been member of the NAWCC since 1972 and has been a member of several chapters. He has a PhD in experimental solid state physics. He took two courses at the NAWCC school of watchmaking when it was in operation. He has worked in government labs, commercial sales and military systems engineering. He has several patents on military related systems. He is interested in both watches and clocks. His watch interests include repair tools and watches that shows developments in watchmaking. His clock interests are in precision time keeping and pendulum stability. He is currently a board member of Chapter 8 and assists on the NAWCC message board.

This webinar is a top down view of the escapement beginning with a description and a review of what an escapement does and how it distinguishes different types of timekeepers.

The theme is that all escapements have three things:

1. They unlock the power that drives the timepiece
2. They apply power to the timekeeping element
3. They re-lock the power source It includes examples of various escapements showing them operating in slow motion and how each performs the three functions of an escapement.

Wednesday Evening, July 22, 2020. "Simon Willard Eight-day Clocks: In Search of the Finely-Divided Trade, 1785-1825"

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.

Previous scholarship by this speaker 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. This talk 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.

Robert C. Cheney 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.

Saturday Afternoon, June 13, 2020. "The Future of Auctions Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic"

Daniel Horan is owner and president of Schmitt-Horan & Co. and a licensed auctioneer. He has managed auction houses specializing in antique horological items for more than 20 years, and this has provided him with the unique experience of working with some of the top watch and clock experts in the field.

Since acquiring Schmitt-Horan in 2017, Dan created a specialized and proprietary auction software that assists in the firm’s ability to provide frequent online auction and high-quality opportunities for horological enthusiasts and collectors. As a “hands-on” owner, Dan works personally with clients and their families on estate and trust matters to ensure that their collections are treated with care and respect.



As a 15 year member of the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors and Board member of Chapter 8, Dan has given many presentations on Selling At Auction, appraisals, and how to share the love of antiques with the younger generations.

https://vimeo.com/629320958

Saturday Afternoon, May 30, 2020. "Do You Own Boston Watch Company Watch #6000?"

The revelation of Boston Watch Company pocket watch movements with serial numbers in the 6000s is the outgrowth of tracking information about surviving Waltham Model 57 watches for 20-some years and the study of court documents when the Company went bankrupt in 1857. They do exist or are they’re just hidden under a different name.

Following a professional career in high tech computer companies, Ron Price recently retired from building websites. He has been an active member of NAWCC chapters #8, #87 and #148, also Mass Watch & Clock Makers, and now lives in South Carolina. Ron’s 10-year researched monograph, “Origins of the Waltham Model 57”, was published by NAWCC in 2005 and he has recently updated it on his website http://www.plads.com/m57.

Saturday Afternoon, May 16, 2020. "Epidemics Touched Clockmaker's Lives Too"

Mary Jane Dapkus will provide brief histories of a number of infectious diseases and their 18th and 19th-century treatments along with stories connecting these matters with early American clockmakers.

Mary Jane is an independent history researcher specializing in horological studies. Her articles have appeared in the NAWCC “Bulletin,” the “Cog Counters Journal,” and the “Timepiece Journal” of the American Clock and Watch Museum of which she is a contributing editor.

Saturday Afternoon, May 2, 2020. "No Preview, No Podium, No Problem"

Bob Frishman and Jay Dowling will report on the recent online-only auction of watches and clocks at Skinner at Skinner Online Auction.

Bob Frishman is a professional horologist and founder of Bell-Time Clocks in 1992. He now devotes most of his time to research, writing, travel, lecturing, and conference planning. A Fellow of the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors, he chairs its Time Symposium Committee and organizes annual horology related conferences at major museums. He has published more than 100 articles and presented more than 100 lectures. He is a Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers in London, a Proprietor of the Boston Athenaeum and Exhibit Director of the Horological Society of New York. A 1973 graduate of George Washington University, he worked for ten years on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. During the next decade he ran AKKO, Inc., an acrylic furniture manufacturing company. At 68 years of as age, he is married to writer Jeanne Schinto and lives in Andover, Massachusetts, his home town. More about him is at www.bell-time.com.

Jonathan Dowling joined the Clocks, Watches, and Scientific Instruments Department at Skinner, Inc. in 2010 after six years with Skinner, during which he gained a strong practical foundation in the valuation of fine art and antiques. Prior to Skinner, Jonathan taught and practiced the art of fine furniture making in South Carolina, Texas, and Massachusetts. He also owned and operated a private furniture restoration business. Jonathan studied Fine Art with a focus in Portraiture at du Cret School of Art and Design in New Jersey, before beginning to follow his passion for woodworking. Jonathan builds early American-style furniture as well as his own contemporary designs. His reproduction of a Philadelphia Queen Anne Tilt-top Tea Table was featured in Fine Woodworking magazine. Jonathan has expanded his expertise to include 18th and 19th century American and European clocks, nautical and maritime art and antiques, a range of scientific instruments, as well as assorted mechanical curiosities.