First Place: Nathan S. Bower (MI)

This original concept is a 10-day, weight-driven, skeleton regulator with an astronomical dial. All components of this mechanism are completely handcrafted without the use of CNC machining. Features include Invar 36 pendulum with Brocot/deadbeat hybrid escapement, maintaining power wheel, high tooth counts on wheels and pinions, fl ame blued hands and screws, hand-engraved silvered seconds and hour chapter rings, and an etched glass dial showing minutes. 

First Place: Michael J. Efta (AK)

Three-day movement made entirely of wood except for the drive weights. All wood colors are natural. Each color combination on the chain corresponds to a day of the week and the pin washers correspond to day (maple) and night (walnut). The gears are designed to be humidity stable. The drive gear teeth are cylindrically involute. Resetting the drive weight is done by sliding one of the weights on to the chain toward the top and then removing the lower one. The length of the pendulum is easily adjustable. Many of the exotic hardwoods are “recycled.” 

First Place: Philip Johansen (WA)

This is a long duration (6 month) single-train movement with moon phase display. The moon phase display is driven by an integral to the falling weight. The moon phase/weight is rigged by a pulley system that attaches to the case at the bottom and the top to keep weight facing properly as the Kevlar line unwinds from the drum in the clock movement. The movement is wound by a secret crank disguised as a rosette on the case. The rosette is pulled out about 1/4” to engage the winding gears and one of the pins extends out from the rosette to form the crank handle. The movement must be mounted in the case for (1) the movement to be wound; (2) the moon phase display/weight to be properly hung and; (3) for the movement to run.

The Clock of the LEGO® Now is an accurate astronomical clock made from plastic bricks native to Denmark and found in seven of ten U.S. homes. It is made entirely of Lego® parts and held together without glue or screws. There is no lubrication. None of the parts have been modifi ed, fabricated, carved, or painted. Only the string and weight are non-Lego® for safety and cost reasons. This skeleton clock is accurate to one minute per day, runs for 24 hours, has a grasshopper escapement, a 40-second remontoire/maintaining power, and a three-pound weight. It can be rewound in 30 seconds without stopping the clock. It has been running for eight months. In addition to a seconds pendulum, concentric minute and hour hands, and day-of-the-week indicator, it features the following orrery items: Moon phase rotation every 29.53 days with an error of one day in 122 years. Moon sidereal rotation every 27.32 days with an error of one day in 141 years. Earth orbit around the sun in 365.25 days showing months, seasons, equinoxes, and solstices.

First Place: Philip Johansen (WA)

The case is brass and black anodized aluminum. Zebra wood is used for the back and as an accent around the glass side panels. The round top hood has a curved acrylic window for viewing the movement. The hood slides off for a more critical inspection of the movement, and for making adjustments and for servicing. The case has two rosettes below the hood. The one on the left is the secret crank for winding the movement. The rosette on the right rotates to open the front glass door.

First Place:  Tsutomu "Mark" Endo (NE)

360-Degree Skeleton Watch Movement Made in the USA. This 7-jewel watch movement is made from scratch, handmade with the exception of three parts: the mainspring, hairspring, and jewels. The design and layout of this watch is intentionally simple and sparse, without sacrifi cing timekeeping, to allow the viewer to see the inner workings of the gears, escapement, and other mechanism, as much as possible from the top, bottom, and both sides. I refer to this design as “360-degree skeleton.” I wanted the watch to be big enough to see the gears yet small enough to fit inside my hand. Another important factor was to make the watch as inexpensively as possible by salvaging materials on hand.

First Place:  Gene Galbraith (TX)  

Restoration of Thwaites & Reed Turret clock, Clerkenwell, London, 1850, with clock tower. The tower clock is a time-and-strike movement purchased from a private individual in Texas. The clock was previously acquired at an auction in New Orleans. It was originally installed in a public building (thought to have been a church), which was bombed in 1941. The building was a total loss, but the clock survived. Eventually, it ended up in a dealer’s shop in New Orleans. The clock was totally disassembled and refurbished via fine glass-bead blasting followed by appropriate polishing, clear-coating, or painting. The clock is 99 percent original. The governor had damaged vanes, which were reconstructed from vintage sheet iron. The cables had previously been replaced with quarter-inch stainless steel cables, which were retained. The original pendulum is 14 feet long. The 82-pound iron bob is original. The clock tower stands 13’ 8” tall and was built by using recycled materials from old demolished houses in Austin, TX. Some new moldings were used to enhance certain design features. The overall design was derived from many photos of London towers. The gold bezel was purchased from Inline Ovals, which specializes in custom frames. The tower clock dial was designed from the setting dial on the clock movement. The 36” dial image was vectored by graphic designer Molly Humphrey, so the image could be enlarged without loss of detail. CompuSigns, of Austin, TX, printed the dial on translucent acrylic. The dial is backlit with a pair of LED strip lights that illuminate the clock dial at night. The tower clock bell is not original to the clock. It is an 1886 cast-iron school bell made in the USA by the Meneely Bell Company.

Second Place:  Edward W. Bikowitz (MI)  

This 30-hour Ansonia cottage clock was discovered in an antique shop in eastern New York. The only original wood on the clock was the door. All veneer was gone from the case, and the wood top of the door was split and missing wood. The dial was worn and faded. The hands, pendulum, and door latch were missing. It had no label and the door molding strip needed repair. The click on the winding arbor was broken. It had a piece of “starch box” that someone had substituted for a base. One of the dial mounting blocks was broken off. It did have some original parts: original old glass, Ansonia movement, dial pan, and a decorative original door and molding. It also had brass eyes for hinges rather than hinges of any type. I was impressed with its very tiny size. It had to be one of the smallest cottage clocks I had seen. The case was nearly intact, but someone had stripped off the veneer. I repaired and filled the wood split on top of the door. I replaced the worn dial and added new hands and a suitable door latch. I applied a decoration on the glass and added an appropriate decorative pendulum. I repaired the molding strip and fabricated a new base. I found an appropriate label and resized it to fit the clock. I used booked veneer to do the sides and top of the clock and stained it to match the original door. I could not find a spring click with a slot, but one was found by Pat Loftus, who offered to replace it for me. All work on the clock, except the click spring, was completed by the entrant.

First Place:  Patricia Holloway (TX)

Merchant’s Exchange litho transfer reverse glass painting. This ogee replacement tablet was created by applying a photocopy of an etching to the reverse of a scraped and cleaned ogee tablet. The excess paper was removed and the remaining image was painted with artists’ oils to replicate an original ogee tablet.

Second Place:  Patricia Holloway (TX)

Holiday ornament litho transfer reverse glass painting. This ornament was created by making a photocopy of an early watchcase found in a jeweler’s supply catalog. The photocopy was then applied to the reverse of a vintage watch crystal. The excess paper was removed and the remaining image was painted gold to replicate the watchcase.

First Place: William Galinsky (WI)

First Place: Susan Wood (MN)

Weight-driven wall clock. Wheels of clockmaker’s brass cut using handmade multiple tooth profiled cutters. Crown wheel cut using a high-speed steel fly cutter. Arbor of W1 drill rod, lantern pinions of brass and end caps and music wire trundles. Plates of mild steel with brass bushings. Skeleton movement embellished with repoussed steel tulips. Dimensions: 20" tall, 10" wide, and 5" deep. Hand-forged mild steel tulips, leaf and bulbs. Sheet metal formed with hammer and stakes using French repousse techniques. Black pipe shaped with hammer and anvil. Decorative elements assembled using gas welding.

First Place: Bruce Ross Foreman (IN)

Hairspring torque gauge for clocks. All metal parts were machined and hand-finished from brass and steel bar. The dial work and silvering were done by the entrant. The dial hand, bearing jewels, and hairspring were purchased items. This design is mainly the entrant’s but is loosely based on the Login hairspring gauge.