Welcome to my website whose purpose is to share my enthusiasm for preservation, restoration and collecting of specialized timepieces as well as dissemination of information about them.

This website is divided into the three areas of horology that interest me. They are tower clocks (also known as turret clocks in the UK), skeleton clocks and bank vault time locks. The common theme is the fact that one can see the mechanism. When these clocks are running, they become beautiful kinetic pieces of art. This is especially true at the scale demonstrated by the tower clocks.

Another aspect of the collection is that it encompasses the full range of time movement sizes that a  person might encounter in the world of horology. From a few ounces and an inch or so across - the size of a watch, to over a one-half ton, 6 foot wide tower clock. The oldest clock is from the 1400's and the newest from 2003.

I also enjoy the restoration of time pieces, in particular, tower clocks. There is something very satisfying in bringing an ugly, rusted piece of machinery back to life as a beautiful kinetic sculpture. The Tower Clock Restoration Page goes through a typical restoration process as was done on the Collin - Wagner tower clock. One will get a sense of how labor intensive (labor of love?) this process can be.

Below is the model of a commission I am funding to have a large   astronomical skeleton clock built over the next three years; beginning July 2007. Details are here (uses Acrobat Reader) as well as in the August 2007 issue of the National Association of Watch and Clock collectors Bulletin. Watch the construction as it progresses.

NEW!!! Click here to see a paper I have written on tower clocks. (Uses Acrobat Reader.)

Interested in selling or a trade? Please contact me.

To use this site just click on the buttons at the top of the page to go to the beginning of each horological sub-category. The site is graphics intensive and is best enjoyed with a high speed internet connection. Video clips will play on Windows Media Player or RealOne Player. Any questions, comments, suggestions email me: mfrank1@rcn.com. 

Member of: National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors (NAWCC),  NAWCC Chicago Chapter #3, NAWCC Tower Clock Chapter #134, British Horological Institute (BHI), Antiquarian Horological Society (AHS), American Watchmakers-Clockmakers Institute (AWI). For more information about these organizations and other sites of interest click LINKS page.

Site last updated: July 2008

                          Bank Vault Time Locks

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