Daft Punk is not playing at our house. It’s better. HSNY is at our office to party.
Andrew McUtchenI don’t know about you, Australian watch lovers, but I’ve always looked lustfully, enviously and with more than just a faint sense of sadness at all the things the Horological Society of New York (HSNY) get up to over there. Somewhere. Beyond the sea. Not only in America, mind you. Wherever they go with their Traveling Education tours. One day, I thought. One sweet day.
Well, that day has come. And it hasn’t come with the price of a plane fare or Manhattan accommodation attached. The oldest American watchmaking guild is coming to us! Yes. The Horological Society of New York will be in Australia in a New York Minute – days to be precise. It’s time to get excited.
We’re more than just a little bit freaked out to include this part from the HSNY’s press release about the tour, too. “For the first time in Traveling Education history, HSNY will also collaborate with a regional media partner — Australian watch media publisher Time+Tide.” It gets even better, because this event has a door prize you’re going to want to win. The press release goes on: “As the country faces critical times, HSNY is honoured to match The Hour Glass’s donation of a ticket to participate in the lauded Traveling Education courses. Both tickets will be raffled at Time+Tide’s Watch & Act! World Watch Auction Wrap Party with all proceeds from ticket sales going to the Bushfire Appeal.”
This last bit is like that LCD Soundsystem song where Daft Punk play at his house. He didn’t even have to get an Uber to the stadium. That’s what’s happening. Not only are HSNY coming to Australia. They’re coming to our actual office.
Of course, the main reason they’re in town is to run one of their famed ‘Watchmaking 101 – 103’ courses, which we highly recommend you get around. We are. Myself, James and Nick will be full fee-paying students. But, given the very good timing, they’re also going to be the guests of honour, along with our friends at The Hour Glass, at the Watch & Act! wrap party at Time+Tide HQ in Cremorne. More than just be there, they’re going to put in a firefighter’s hat two tickets – one from HSNY and one from THG – to their watchmaking course, worth $800 each, to be raffled off as a door prize.
For the price of admission ($80 for non-club and $40 for Time+Tide Club members), attendees will go in the draw for the tickets, they will also receive a not-for-sale Watch & Act! T-shirt and a copy of NOW Magazine Issue 2. The Wrap Party is to recognise and celebrate all of the parties that contributed to the Watch & Act! World Watch Auction, raising an incredible $220K AUD for bushfire relief. Five organisations supporting wildlife, firefighters and Australians affected by the bushfires in serious need will receive an equal portion of the total amount in the coming weeks as successful bidders receive their watches.
The 154-year-old HSNY is one of the oldest continuously operating horological associations in the world and has a mission to advance the art and science of horology. During each four-hour course, eight students will disassemble and reassemble a complete mechanical watch movement (ETA 6497) and find out what makes a watch tick under the —apologies in advance — ‘eagle’ eye of HSNY’s Director of Education, Steve Eagle.
Buy tickets for the Watch & Act! Wrap Party here.
Buy tickets for the HSNY Watchmaking 101 – 103 course here.