Horological Society of New York

The story

A group of German immigrants founded this society in 1866 as the Deutscher Uhrmacher Verein, conducting all business in German and offering working watchmakers something practical: life insurance and training. George Schmidt and Frederick Ruoff were among them. The language shifted to English around World War I, and the name changed to Horological Society of New York in 1930. Membership surged after World War II, then collapsed during the quartz crisis. Now, as mechanical watches have come back, so has the Society — drawing collectors, hobbyists, students, and researchers from around the world.