In the mid-1990s the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors (NAWCC) Museum asked American watchmaker Roland Murphy to repair a Patek Philippe Grand Complication — an important timepiece in the James Arthur collection. They were making a video and needed the repeater mechanism to function. Additionally, photographs were taken during the repair and restoration process to give a glimpse inside the extremely rare and complicated replica watch.
The 35mm negatives were recently scanned and were shared for the first time in the spring of 2023. At the November lecture of the Horological Society of New York (HSNY), Murphy will share the scans and his experience of repairing one of the most important watches in horological history. Roland attended Bowman Technical School in Lancaster, PA in the early 1980s. In 1986 he furthered his watchmaking training in Switzerland at the Watchmakers of Switzerland Training and Educational Program (WOSTEP). He has also trained at Audemars Piguet, ETA, and Girard Perregaux. After WOSTEP he was hired by SMH to work in product development as technical manager for the Hamilton Watch Co. He remained there until he started RGM Watch Co. in 1992.
Many of his ideas come from his vast knowledge and love of watchmaking, watch history, and from his many years of restoring watches which he still enjoys doing to this day.
The November 6, 2023, HSNY lecture will take place at the General Society Library in Midtown Manhattan, located at 20 West 44th Street, New York, NY, 10036. Free tickets are required to attend. Doors open at 6 PM. and the lecture begins at 7 PM. All HSNY lectures are free, open to the public, and video-recorded. Recorded lectures are made available to HSNY members immediately, and to the general public with a two-month delay.