A race against time: The Horological Society of New York is on a mission to save watchmaking

In 1866, German émigrés George Schmidt and Frederick Ruoff sat in a New York tavern, discussing the need for an organisation that fostered the burgeoning watchmaking industry. The guild that they founded, the Horological Society of New York (HSNY), is still building on this original ambition. Much has changed in the intervening years – not least the emergence of the smartphone, which made wristwatches no longer a necessity. But watches remain highly coveted as a luxury good: the global market for new timepieces is now valued at €50.78bn, an all-time high. The number of active watchmakers, however, is decreasing. Miranda Marraccini, HSNY’s head librarian, says that the purpose of the society has evolved. “We’re trying to make the craft accessible and raise awareness of it,” she says. “We want to open it up to people of all levels of experience.”

The society, which has more than 2,000 members, is based in a 19th-century building in Midtown Manhattan. It provides scholarships for full-time watchmaking schools and is home to one of the world’s largest horological libraries, with an exhibition space and rooms for teaching. The Jost Bürgi Research Library is a bright, airy space, filled with more than 25,000 materials in dozens of languages. Thanks to a donation by Swiss clock enthusiast Fortunat Mueller-Maerki in 2021, its catalogue grew from a few hundred practical volumes to a broader collection celebrating the art and science of horology. “It’s an incredibly diverse library, all about watches, but also calendars, navigation, astronomy, physics, philosophy – and lots on sundials,” says Marraccini. The oldest book here is a beautifully illustrated tome about navigational instruments from 1573; newer manuals and coffee-table books from Rolex and Audemars Piguet also line the shelves.

On the day of Monocle’s visit, Luke Cox-Bien, a watchmaker for Rolex, is teaching a two-hour class about movement mechanics, in which students are introduced to the various functions and components of the ETA 6497, a mechanical, manual-wind pocket-watch movement made with 17 jewels. In the society’s well-appointed classroom, Cox-Bien instructs students on how to disassemble and reassemble it, taking out each of its miniature wheels one by one using precision screwdrivers and anti-magnetic tweezers. The purpose of such classes isn’t to train people to become watchmakers; instead, they’re designed to raise interest in the craft and make the public appreciate the delicacy of its practitioners’ work.

The society is one of this industry’s last bastions in the US. “We support working watchmakers but we’re also trying to increase opportunities for people who want to become one,” says Marraccini. That makes sense. The guild might have impressive halls and history – but if the institution has no one to pass these skills down to, the craft won’t stand the test of time.
hs-ny.org