Art has generally been defined as a product of human activity, made with the intention of stimulating the human senses as well as the mind. The production of timepieces has always combined a technical skill of the maker with an aesthetic panache. The scale of the watch amplifies these skills. Fine watchmakers have always combined both technical expertise and artistic awareness in the designs of their watches. As the market grew more competitive, so did the need to enhance and improve watches in both their mechanics and appearance. This exhibit will present fine watches from the earliest pocket watches to the modern wristwatch, and the artistic and technical skill of the watchmaker. In addition, the exhibit will incorporate artwork from artists who integrated watches into their artwork (Dali, etc.).

This exhibit is currently seeking funding support and sponsorship.

Bond Watches, James Bond Watches
June 2010 - May 2011

The character of James Bond has always worn some of the finest and latest in wristwatches. To compliment the Grand Complications exhibit, the Museum will host an exhibit highlighting the timepieces worn by James Bond throughout his literary and motion picture career. The exhibit will be augmented with memorabilia and collectibles related to the James Bond franchise.

The principles that drove your grandmother’s clock had many other applications. Clockworks are mechanisms powered by a coiled spring and regulated by some form of escapement; the power is transmitted through toothed gear wheels and used for centuries to drive a variety of things, including complicated clocks, toys, music boxes, and automatons. Through the presentation of fanciful and fun toys to the clockwork bomb fuse, visitors will gain a greater appreciation of the pervasiveness of clockwork mechanisms in society. This exhibit will demonstrate the many uses, both practical and whimsical, for the clockwork mechanism.

Time Out!
April 2012 - December 2012

Sport, an activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively, commonly refers to activities in which the physical capabilities of the competitor primarily determine of the outcome (winning or losing), but time also plays a critical role in virtually all sporting events. The accurate accounting of time to the proper management of time has always been vital to sports. This exhibit, scheduled the same year as the summer Olympic Games in London, will explore the role time has played in the history of sport and how it has influenced sport over the centuries.