New Guild Chairman
It is with a profound sense of honour and responsibility that I address you as the newly elected Chairman of the British Watch and Clock Makers’ Guild.
The British Watch & Clock Makers Guild
News
A Golden Day – a private view of some of the world’s most important clocks
The John C Taylor Collection A select group of horologists had the chance to join Dr John C Taylor OBE at his Isle of Man home to view his important and unique collection of clocks and watches, many of which date from the ‘golden age of clockmaking.’ John’s home, Arragon Mooar, includes
Jeremy Hobbins FBHI BCU Horology head moves on…
Jeremy Hobbins, who has been synonomous with Birmingham City University’s horology department since 2009 left his post as Deputy Head of the College for Jewellery Fashion and Textiles, at the end of the Summer term and is moving on to pastures new. Over the years he says there have been
Ben Rousseau – Designer of Time and Light
Designer of Time and Light Ben Rousseau is an award-winning designer and lighting artist who specialises in the relationship between material, light, and form. Born in Australia but raised in Colchester, England’s oldest recorded town, Ben is driven to illuminate people’s lives through his art, products and interiors. His inspiration
Chris Papworth Chairman
The new Guild Chairman for 2025 is Chris Papworth MBHI, who last held the position in 2019. This will be his fourth term as Chair. He was appointed at the AGM on 22 May. Chris, who has been involved with the Guild for 45 years hopes to lead our organisation
Guild/BHI Award Winner – Rhys Davies
The Guild/BHI Prize Winner for 2024 is 18-year-old Rhys Davies, who was presented with his award, a £500 Cousins tool voucher, at a special Awards Day, at Upton Hall, at the end of October. Rhys, an apprentice clockmaker based in Kent, was born in Ashford and has lived in the
Harrison at No 11 – Part 2
A second highly successful event was held at Number 11 Downing Street on Tuesday 4 February, attended by almost 100 Guild members. The first event, which took place on Thursday 28 November was a huge success and heavily oversubscribed. As so many members were left disappointed, we decided to get
Celebrating Harrison at Number 11
Guild members came together to celebrate John Harrison in style at a memorable evening in the State Room at Number 11 Downing Street on Thursday 28 November. Harrison experts Jonathan Betts and Andrew King each gave a speech, sharing their knowledge and passion for the man who created the most
Nickel Steel Balance Spring – A major development in watchmaking
Eur Ing David Boettcher CEng MIET FBHI In the article about my grandparents’ watches in the previous issue of TimePiece, I mentioned that my grandfather’s watch has a white alloy balance spring that is most likely a nickel steel alloy of the type invented by Paul Perret and Dr Guillaume
BCU/Guild Award Winner 2024 – Meichel Wright
The Guild/BCU award winner for 2024 is Meichel Wright, who received a £500 Cousins tool voucher for the highest achievement in clock and watch servicing, final year. He received his prize from Rebecca Van Rooijen at the School of Jewellery’s Presentation Evening on 13 June. Meichel (24), who says he
New Director for Guild Board Colin Andrews FBHI
Meet Colin Andrews FBHI – who was voted onto the Guild’s Board of Directors at May’s Annual General Meeting. Colin, a former Guild Prize winner, was a student at both Birmingham City University (2011-2012) and the British School of Watchmaking (2012-2013). He then worked for a number of watch repair
British Watchmakers’ Day – Andrew Canter, MrWatchMaster
Sell out event showcasing the Best of British The Alliance of British Watch and Clock Makers, British Watchmakers’ Day, was billed as the first major live event dedicated to British watch and clock brands and took place at Lindley Hall in Westminster on Saturday 9 March. The event was for
Progress in Time – Anne Baker
NBSWCM – the trade charity providing financial help for over 200 years As we enter 2024, with the backdrop of world unease and continuing financial difficulties, it is heart-warming to remember that many charities exist to support and assist those who find themselves in difficulty. Volunteers are still willing to offer
Guild Award Winner – Mark Murran
British School of Watchmaking Presentation Evening The BSOW/Guild 2024 Award winner is Mark Murran, who has just completed the 1800 hour course at the Manchester School. He was presented with his award – a Cousins tool voucher – by Guild Chairman, Shuajb Berisha FBHI, at the Presentation Evening at the
Horological History and Technique – The Watch Case Museum
A hidden treasure in the Swiss Jura mountains Maximin Chapuis, a French watchmaker and WOSTEP watchmaking instructor visits Le Musée de la Boite de Montre – The Watch Case Museum Housed in an old workshop that has been completely renovated, the fascinating Musée de la Boite de Montre, in Le
Guild/BHI Prizewinner 2023 – Jurjen van der Eems
South African student horologist Jurjen van der Eems has won the Guild/BHI Prize for 2023 and receives a £500 Cousins tool voucher.His success, achieving the best result in the Distance Learning Course (DLC) Level 3 Diploma in Clock and Watch Servicing, was announced at the BHI Awards Day at the end
Guild/BSoW Prize Winners 2023
Two talented students at the British School of Watchmaking have received Guild awards for their outstanding achievements during study. Rafal Chmiel, who studied on the 3,000 hour course (two years) and Alice Neri, who has recently completed the 1800 course (one year) are delighted with the accolade. Rafal received a
BOOK REVIEW – Hidden Histories – Coventry Jewish Watchmakers
Hidden HistoriesCoventry Jewish Watchmakersby Mark JohnsonWith foreword by Professor Emerita Gillian HundtISBN978-1-7393102-0-2 Softback £9.99978-1-7393102-1-9 Hardback £16.99978-1-7393102-2-6 eBook £6.99 or free with Kindle UnlimitedAvailable at: Amazon.com This book achieves what it sets out to do and that is to review the Coventry watch industry through the eyes of the small, but significant,
BOOK REVIEW – Hands of Time – A Watchmaker’s History of Time
Title: Hands of TimeA Watchmaker’s History of TimeAuthor: Rebecca StruthersISBN: 9781529339031Publisher: Hodder & StoughtonIllustrations by Craig StruthersPhotographs by Andy PilsburyPrice: £22Available from Amazon, Waterstones, Foyles and all good bookshops. First and foremost, this book is an excellent read. I started three days ago, and I have only reluctantly put it down for essentials
Watch Servicing – A Step-By-Step Guide for Student Watchmakers – The Watch Professional
In the first of a planned series of articles, I want to explain how I approach every watch I service. There are naturally many differences between each brand and every calibre, vintage or modern, but the overall approach and processes each watch goes through remains the same. My follow up
A Space Odyssey
Planetariums, telluriums and lunariums that are out of this world… Part 2 José Gómez In the last TimePiece we highlighted how José first became interested in planetariums and how his passion has developed over the years into a thriving family business, where he works alongside his wife Iratxe and daughter
Guild/BHI Prize Winners
Two students received BWCMG prizes at the BHI Awards Day in November. It was the first time that the event has been held since before Covid, hence the two awards (one for 2021 and one for 2022), both of which were given for the best result in the Diploma in Clock and
QEST – Horological students invited to apply as new year funding round opens
Horological students are being encouraged to apply for the latest scholarship grants on offer through QEST. The next round will be open 9 January – 13 February 2023 and details of how to apply are available online at qest.org.uk There are two types of funding available. Scholarship funding supports individuals in
BCU student William Oke wins Guild Award
Birmingham City University horology student William Oke has won the BWCMG Annual Award for the highest achievement in Clock and Watch Servicing. He was presented with a £500 Cousins tool voucher by Chairman, Paul Roberson, at the School of Jewellery’s Awards Evening in June. Third-year student Will has already secured a job
The Few – The Spitfire Watch – Colin Andrews FBHI
BWCMG member Colin Andrews has embarked on a very special project – hand-making British watches using parts of an old war-time spitfire. Colin at the Bench Since embarking upon my career as a watchmaker I always had the ambition to be just that – a maker of watches. I was
Traditional Hand Finishing Skills – Bevelling (Part 2)
This is the fifth in a series of six articles, by Maximin Chapuis, a French watchmaker, which takes a look at traditional finishing skills that are all carried out by hand. In the last TP, we saw different bevelling processes, so now I want to look at the most noble
Britain’s Best Kept Horological Secret
The Great Clock of Westminster restored in tiny Cumbrian hamlet As the Palace of Wesminster renovations finally draw to an end after five long years and at a cost of many millions of pounds, probably one of the best kept horological secrets has finally been revealed. During the work, the
A Journey in Watchmaking by David Cottrill
Starting from Scratch, Part 1 Looking back it is hard to remember that eight years ago the idea of making my own pocket watch from scratch was something bordering on the impossible. Back then an article on the BBC website had caught my eye that was to be the start
A message from the Guild President Jools Holland OBE
Well here we are again at the start of another new year – one which will hopefully be kinder to us all as this dreadful virus at last seems to be receding and things are slowly getting back to normal. Firstly, as always, I would like to wish all
QEST – Funding available
The Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust (QEST), which is dedicated to supporting excellence in British craftsmanship, is looking to encourage more watch and clock makers to apply for funding. Since it was founded in 1990, QEST has awarded over £5million to 625 craftspeople working in areas ranging from horology to saddlery,
Apprentice News
Information in Timepiece helps to keep members of the Guild abreast of apprenticeship opportunities, ideal for filling that gap in the workshop. This edition reports on the latest news about the government ‘Trailblazer’ apprenticeship for watchmakers, a new initiative from the Clockmakers’ Company and ‘Kickstart’. 1. At the moment, preparations
ONLY WATCH has released its horological collection for the 2021 biennial charity auction.
This year will be the 9th edition of this internationally-followed event, which has so far raised more than 70 million euros. It will take place on 6 November 2021 in Geneva, and will be conducted by Christie’s. ONLY WATCH was founded by Luc Pettavino, who is President of Association Monégasque
BWCMG – BCU Prize Winner
Birmingham City University BA horology student Lewis Sorrill has won the BWCMG 2021 Prize for achieving the highest score in watch/clock servicing. Due to coronavirus restrictions the award was presented virtually by Head of Horology, Jeremy Hobbins, on behalf of Guild Chairman Paul Roberson, who joined the ceremony, along with
Traditional Hand Finishing Skills – Polishing countersinks with a bow and a pulley – Maximin Chapuis
This is the first in a series of six articles, by Maximin Chapuis, a French watchmaker, which takes a look at traditional finishing skills, which are all carried out by hand. Hand finishing is very important work. Not only can it make the movement more attractive but it is also
BWCMG Prize – Double presentation to BSoW students
Two top students at the British School of Watchmaking have won BWCMG prizes for achieving the highest overall grade on the two courses run by the Manchester-based facility. Naïs Hamelin, received the award for her work on the 3000 hour course. She will recieve a £500 Cousins tool voucher. Krzysztof
Revolutions in Time – The Future of Precision Timekeeping – by Ray Essen
The unit of time (the ‘second’) can now be measured more accurately than any other physical quantity and there has been a tenfold increase in the accuracy of the measurement of time and frequency in each decade since the end of the Second World War. None of this progress would
Saved by the Bell! – Britain’s last traditional foundry handed a Lottery lifeline
£5m restoration secures Loughborough Bell Foundry’s future John Taylor & Co – the UK’s last traditional bell foundry – has embarked on a £5m restoration project, thanks to Lottery funding and donations from other charities and individuals. The Taylor family settled their business in Loughborough in 1839 and moved to a
A Message from the Guild President Jools Holland OBE
Firstly, I’d like to take this opportunity to wish members of the British Watch and Clock Makers’ Guild a very happy new year. Let’s hope we can put the disaster of 2020 behind us and that things will improve in 2021. This dreadful virus has had a terrible impact on all
New trade body to support UK’s commercial watch and clock makers – The Alliance of British Watch and Clock Makers
A new commercial trade organisation which will support and promote the British watch and clock making industry on an international level has recently been launched. A new commercial trade organisation which will support and promote the British watch and clock making industry on an international level has recently been launched.
The clockmaker apprenticeship – your trade needs you
So much has happened since I last sat down to write an update on the Clockmaker Apprenticeship – no-one could have predicted Coronavirus and the devasting effects it has brought. Work on the Apprenticeship has been stagnant for some months whilst, as a business, world events and lockdowns have been
The watchmaker apprenticeship – why you should employ an apprentice now
The second cohort of apprentices will start learning at the Watchmaker Apprentice Training School (WATS) in January 2021. From a successful start, the apprenticeship programme is beginning again after lockdown in March. Despite the challenges of coronavirus, the apprentices were able to continue their studies of the core theory for
An epicyclic clock adventure
Part 1 – Making the Annulus Wheel I have recently graduated from Birmingham City University with a first class honours degree in Horology. I came to the course with no prior experience, but a keen interest in all things mechanical. It was an exhibition featuring George Daniels at the Science
Adding a date complication
I am a student on the BSOW traditional 3000 hour watchmaking course, class of 2018-2020, which entails the more traditional aspects of watchmaking, that aren’t as commonly taught these days. Alongside six other students, I learn micro mechanics, hand turning winding stems and balance staffs, timing hairsprings using the Luthy
CNC milling for watch and clock makers
In this month’s TimePiece, Frank Boswell describes how to refurbish an automatic device complete for a Rolex cal 1030. Any part reference numbers are taken from the Ebauches SA Technological Dictionary. He writes… On inspection there are three parts that require replacement. I thought the first challenge was making the
Researching the Guilds history
The Guild is to fund a small research project into its formation and history after it was found there was little to no information pre-1930s. Although it is known that our organisation was established by Bahne Bonniksen, of Coventry, little more has been recorded about the early days. At the
Anordain – enamelling – old crafts in new hands
anOrdain, a vibrant ‘new’ Glasgow-based watchmaking business, which specialises in making enamel dials in time-honoured tradition, has just received a £60,000 grant to help them expand even further. Founder Lewis Heath opened the Scottish studio five years ago with the plan to make enamel watch dials – little did he
IWC Calibre Jones
Calibre Jones watches were the first watches made by the International Watch Company (IWC) and are now around 150 years old, Figure 1. These early models were designed and produced by IWC founder, Florentine Ariosto Jones, a young American who crossed the Atlantic Ocean to Schaffhausen in 1868. Unusually this medieval
Making the VFR timer
A functional hand-made military style chronograph – Part 1 Introduction Making watches has long been my main interest in horology and although the repair and restoration of watches has been the backbone of my workshop over three decades, it is the creation of timepieces which has captured my interest and
A message from the Guild president Jools Holland OBE
Enjoy yourself … it’s later than you think! Well another year has flown by with lightening speed and, as we look forward to 2020, I would like to take this opportunity of wishing all Guild members, new and old, a very merry Christmas and a peaceful and prosperous new year.
Hong Kong watch clock fair celebrates a first
Académie Horlogère des Créateurs Indépendants (AHCI) join exhibitors at the September fair. The 38th Hong Kong Watch and Clock Fair (HKW&CF) opened from 3 – 7 September, 2019 in the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre on the edge of beautiful Victoria Harbour. As the biggest timepiece exhibitor in the
© 2021 British Watch & Clock Makers Guild.
Designed by PD