Make time to visit Watch and Clock Show

If you enjoy the chiming of a grandfather clock, the rhythmic ticking of a good pocket watch, the wood finish of antiques or just appreciate fine craftsmanship, then you’ll want to stop by the Mid-South Regional Watch and Clock Show this weekend.

Chapter 42 of the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors Inc. is hosting the annual Mid-South Regional Watch and Clock Show and Sale on Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 31 and Sept. 1, at the Chattanooga Convention Center.

The public is invited to visit The Mart in Hall B, where horological items will be bought, sold and traded. Admission for nonmembers of the association is $10, which covers both Saturday and Sunday hours.

While in The Mart, visitors may become acquainted with how a clock works by trying their hands at assembling a clock movement. Guests may also polish a clock pivot on a lathe under a microscope. Experts will be available to advise guests regarding watch repair, case restoration and polishing brass.

This year, the American Watchmakers-Clockmakers Institute will have its mobile classroom stationed in The Mart. It will be set up for watch repair, and frequent tours will be offered.

The exhibit, which is free to the public, is “Tools of the Trade.” It is also located in Hall B, but it and The Mart will have separate entrances. Both antique and contemporary horological tools will be displayed, and visitors may join an exhibit tour led by a knowledgeable docent Saturday at 3 p.m.

Three, free lectures are also scheduled, which are open to the public. The lectures will be approximately one hour in length, and will all be held in Room 19, across the concourse from Hall B in the trade center.

› “Ithaca’s Calendar Movements — How They Work and How to Service Them,” and “Illinois 16-Size Getty Model Watches” are both Saturday. Speaker Joel Warren is acclaimed for his reproduction Ithaca calendar clocks. Speaker Fred E. Hansen has written a volume detailing watches of the Illinois Watch Co.

› On Sunday, Philip Morris, a member of the NAWCC board of directors, will present “Highlights of the Ward Francillon Clock Collection.”

Anyone with a special family heirloom that’s in disrepair — a pocket watch, grandfather clock or other horological treasure — may bring it to the convention center where members of the NAWCC will be happy to suggest reputable craftsmen who can diagnose the problem and set your timepiece running in beat again. Bring your treasure to the registration desk and ask for direction to a knowledgeable member to receive an informal assessment of the piece.

Founded in 1943, NAWCC has more than 15,000 members and more than 100 international chapters. For more information, visit NAWCC.org.

If you go

› What: National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors MidSouth Regional Meeting

› Where: Chattanooga Convention Center, 1150 Carter St.

› When: Saturday-Sunday, Aug. 31 and Sept. 1

› Admission: $10 entrance to The Mart, admission good both days

› For more info:

423-667-9785