Photo Report The 2025 NAWCC National Convention

This year's national convention was held in the Lancaster/York county area of south-central Pennsylvania, home to the NAWCC's headquarters, as well as its National Watch and Clock Museum and School of Horology. It is also one of the cradles of American watch and clock making. This location, used every other year for the convention, provides members and guests with the opportunity to visit the NAWCC headquarters and one of the world's largest and finest museums of horological history.

This year, it was my honor and opportunity to give our 2025 keynote speaker, the renowned British watchmaker and collector Roger W. Smith, a guided tour of the meeting and its events. We started at the museum and school, which were recently renovated under the management and curation of Executive Director Rory McEvoy and his staff. This includes new museum galleries sponsored by Hamilton and Bulova. Roger spent a lot of time inspecting and asking questions about the objects the museum uses to tell the story of American watch and clock making, as well as the "American system of manufacturing." He was also fascinated by our new precision mechanical timekeeping exhibit, which features the "Burgess B" clock, certified as the most accurate pendulum-driven mechanical timepiece ever built.

The next morning, I met Roger at the York Fairgrounds, the site of the convention. He wanted to find and purchase a World War II vintage Hamilton #22 deck watch for his collection. I was fairly certain that somewhere among the more than 500 vendor tables, he would find his ideal specimen. As soon as we entered the "mart room" (where all the sellers display their offerings), we saw former NAWCC board chair and avid Hamilton collector Rhett Lucke, along with NAWCC Executive Director Rory McEvoy. Rhett asked Roger if he would like to examine a couple of Charles Fasoldt double escape wheel pocket watches, so we sat down at one of the mart tables with loupes at the ready. Roger was also able to inspect these and several other great examples of American watchmaking at the national meeting, including some fine American Grade Walthams.

After some time in the mart room, Roger was whisked off to the lecture hall to participate in a well-attended panel discussion on the future of mechanical watch making. Other participants on the panel were Patricia Schmoyer, VP of marketing for the Bulova Brand at Citizen Watch America; James Lamdin, founder of Analog Shift (now owned by Watches of Switzerland, which also owns Hodinkee); Roland Murphy, founder of RGM Watches; and yours truly, as moderator. The discussion was followed by a lively Q&A session with the audience, which lasted almost an hour.

After a long day at the convention, Roger and I went for dinner at the fabulous Roosevelt Tavern in York, PA, where several more collectors joined us. For me, the dinner's highlight was watching Roger interact and inspect some great watches, including a British "Smith's" tourbillon pocket watch from the 1890s with aspiring watchmaker Owen Berger (@whitewhalewatches), who is just sixteen years old. Owen was more than a bit thrilled to be able to examine watches and exchange thoughts with one of his heroes in the watch world.

My final thoughts on the 2025 national convention are, again, all about the opportunities. Roger had the opportunity to purchase a nice Hamilton 22, and I was able to add a couple of new watches to my collection, including a Breitling pre-806, a Valjoux 72-powered Navitimer, and a Breitling 765 AVI, also known as the "Raquel Welch." I got to see several new treasures at the Museum, including the recently opened Bulova exhibit. I learned a great deal from several lectures, including one on "The Unsung Heroines of Watchmaking" with Rhonda Riche. But, better than anything, I had the opportunity to see and trade stories (and lies!) with many longtime friends, and to make a new one in Roger Smith, whom I had previously only known through emails, Zoom, and social media exchanges. Watching Roger experience the convention was particularly rewarding—he seemed to fit right in, approaching everything with the genuine curiosity and the manner that makes these gatherings so special.

While today's NAWCC is still a place where grandpa can find old clocks and pocket watches, it's no longer just his NAWCC. The kids are taking over, and even grandpa seems to love it.

John Cote is a member of the NAWCC Board of Directors and founder of Interstatetime Company and John Cote Photography.