Top 50 Greatest Clock / Watch Museums and Libraries
Watch Museum News, Reviews & Resources
- AMERICAN CLOCK & WATCH MUSEUM - "Promoting and preserving the history of American-made clocks and watches." The museum holds one of the largest displays of American clocks and watches in the world, over 5,500! As visitors travel through the museum’s eight galleries, these timekeeping devices chime and strike upon the hour. 100 Maple Street, Bristol, Connecticut 06010, U.S.A.
- Audemars Piguet museum - "Come and visit us in the Vallée de Joux, Switzerland, to experience our watchmaking heritage in our new museum, the Musée Atelier Audemars Piguet." Still in the hands of its founding families, Audemars Piguet holds an unequalled number of world firsts in the field of Haute Horlogerie. The number of complex watches makes it one of the major private watch museums in this field. Route de France 16, 1348 Le Brassus, Switzerland.
- BADOLLET MUSEUM - "Badollet watches are worn by those who appreciate the rare and the exceptional." In 1635 in Geneva, the first Master Watchmaker in the family, Pierre III Badollet, created a unique expertise which has, along with the different masters of the Badollet dynasty, come down through the centuries in perpetual movement, subtly combining tradition and innovation.
- Beyer Clock & Watch Museum - "In one of the most important clock and watch collection, we present ancient and antique treasures to you and your family and tell the story of timekeeping from 1,400 BC to the present day. Experience the wondrous world of clocks and watches and the fascinating art of their manufacture in the heart of Zurich - in the basement of the shop on Bahnhofstrasse." Bahnhofstrasse 31, 8001 Zurich, Switzerland.
- BRITISH MUSEUM - Clocks and Watches. AD 1300 - present. (Rooms 38–39). Mechanical clocks were invented in Western Europe in the medieval period and were first used in cathedrals and churches. Rooms 38–39 trace their development from these earliest examples to complex and highly decorative domestic clocks, marine chronometers, mass-market designs and modern precision time-keeping. Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3DG, U.K.
- CHELSEA CLOCK MUSEUM - virtual museum. Gives detailed history of clock company known especially for marine clocks and "precision regulators," established by Joseph H. Eastman.
- CITÉ DU TEMPS - Pont de la Machine 1, 1204 Geneva, Switzerland. The world's largest watchmaking group, the Swatch Group (whose brands include Breguet, Blancpain, Glashütte-Original, Jaquet Droz, Léon Hatot, Omega, Longines, Rado, Union, Tissot, ck watch & jewelry, Balmain, Hamilton, Certina, Mido, Swatch, Flik Flak and Endura) opened in 2006, in Geneva, the Cité du Temps, a public exhibition centre focused on the world of time.
- CLOCK MUSEUM AT SCHLOSS Friedenstein - since 1928. Historisches Museum, Schloss Friedenstein, 99867 Gotha, Germany.
- Clock Museum of the Vienna Museum - the 3000 clocks from the collection of the Vienna Museum.
The Clock Museum has a collection that is unique in Europe. It is accommodated in an enchanting Viennese house in the historical city, with foundation walls dating from the Middle Ages, and situated very close to Judenplatz. Schulhof 2, Vienna, Austria.
- CLOCKARIUM MUSEUM - 163 Auguste Reyers boulevard, Brussels / Schaerbeek, Belgium.
- ELLICOTT ONLINE MUSEUM - "Ellicott pocket watches were most prized by high-ranking nobility and monarchs. Today Ellicott pocket watches are exceptional showpieces significant to the public and the collectors."
- Espace Horloger - Museum of Watchmaking - Joux Valley, Grand-Rue 2, 1347 Le Sentier, Switzerland. The Museum throws light on the sophisticated technologies of watchmaking and the richness and diversity of complicated movements: minute-repeater, grand strike, split-seconds chronograph, perpetual calendar, tourbillion, moon phase.
- GERMAN CLOCK MUSEUM - Robert-Gerwig-Platz, 78120 Furtwangen, Germany. With over 8000 items, the collection draws a multifaceted and international portrait all about the history and technology of time.
- German Watch Museum GlashÜtte - Nicolas G. Hayek - "The 'German Watch Museum Glashütte - Nicolas G. Hayek' foundation maintains, archives, categorises and preserves all kinds of artefacts from Glashütte watchmaking history. The collection includes pocket watches, pendulum clocks and wristwatches, marine chronometers, tools, measuring instruments and precision mechanics products. The worldwide significance of the German School of Watchmaking in Glashütte, founded in 1878 by Moritz Grossmann, continues to be maintained through written material, certificates of completion and pupils’ work." Schillerstrasse 3a, 01768 Glashütte / Saxony, Germany.
- Girard-Perregaux Museum - since 1999. "The Villa Marguerite was inaugurated in 1999. Acquired by Girard-Perregaux the previous year, this beautiful building was restored to house the Manufactory's private museum." On display there are collections from the company's past and present, bearing witness to an illustrious history that stretches back over two hundred years. Villa Marguerite, Place Girardet 1, 2300 La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland.
- Haus zum Kirschgarten - Clock & Watch Collection, Elisabethenstrasse 27/29, 4051 Basel, Switzerland. Timepieces made in Western European clock making centres between the 15th and 19th centuries, especially sundials, carriage clocks, enamelled gold watches and timepieces made in Basel.
- Historical Museum Basel - Steinenberg 4, 4051 Basel, Switzerland. "The collection of clocks, watches and scientific instruments in the Basel Historical Museum, consisting of around 1'200 objects, is one of the largest and most important in Switzerland. It is comparable to those in La Chaux-de-Fonds and Geneva, and enjoys an international reputation."
- HOFFMAN CLOCK MUSEUM - Mason St, Newark, New York 14513, U. S. A. "Collection of timepieces has something for everyone and includes over 300 clocks, watches and tools. Exhibits introduce the visitor to the development of timekeeping technology and provide a wide variety of clock styles. A special emphasis on the history of New York State clockmakers makes this museum a truly exceptional place to visit."
- Horlorgerie | Ville de Genève - Musèe d'art et d'histoire, Horological Collection, Rue Charles-Galland 2, 1206 Geneva, Switzerland.
- Horlorgerie Museum - Lange Schipstraat 13, 2800 Mechelen, Belgium. The museum houses a permanent exhibition of approximately 1000 timekeepers.
- International Museum of Horology - 29, rue des Musées, 2301 La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. In exceptional surroundings you can admire the most outstanding pieces, while retracing the history of time measurement from the beginning until modern days.
- IWC Museum | International Watch Company Museum - "Let us show you round our production site and immerse yourself in the world of watchmaking. Come and visit us! Apply online now." In 1993, on the occasion of its 125th anniversary, IWC opened an exclusive museum at its Schaffhausen headquarters and became Switzerland’s first watch manufacturer with such a facility. Since 2007 the collection is housed on the first floor of the historic main building that was built in 1875 by the IWC founder Florentine Ariosto Jones (1841-1916). The new home of IWC watches represents the world of an international luxury brand. Together with the objects on display, it creates surroundings that are at once modern yet timeless, luxurious yet functional, and with every convenience the visitor could possibly wish for. Guests are transported back in time to explore the historical timepieces and the rich history of IWC, and can explore the lineage of each spectacular IWC watch family. Baumgartenstrasse 15, 8201 Schaffhausen, Switzerland.
- Jaeger-LeCoultre Heritage Gallery - since 2007. "180 years of complications, 180 years of invention, 180 years of passion." Jaeger-LeCoultre unveils the new gallery devoted to showcasing the Brand’s Heritage at its Vallée de Joux Manufacture in the village of Le Sentier. The Heritage Gallery is designed as an unprecedented encounter with the Maison and its rich history that constantly inspires creativity, even to this day – a setting that stirs the emotions and stimulates dialogue. Rue de la Golisse 8, 1347 Le Sentier, Vallée de Joux, Switzerland.
- JEANRICARD MUSEUM - La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. By appointment only.
- KELLENBERGER COLLECTION - Kirchplatz 14, 8400 Winterthur, Switzerland.
- KONSTANTIN CHAYKIN - "It's Russian Time." Online Russian watch museum.
- L’Artisan du Temps - Watch Museum & Workshop, 37, rue Nationale, 35300 Fougères, France. Collection of watches and clocks, including numerous masterpieces, driven by ancient and sophisticated movements.
- LE CASTEL - Chez-le-Bart, 2024 Saint-Aubin-Sauges, Switzerland.
- LONGINES Museum - Renovated and restructured in 2012, the museum harbours collections that represent all facets of the brand’s past. Visitors can come and discover the main watch models, navigation instruments, timekeeping instruments, and a variety of unique documents such as photographs, posters, films, medals and archive records. Rue des Noyettes 8, 2610 Saint-Imier, Switzerland.
- L.U.CEUM - Traces of Time - Located in the Chopard Manufacture and opened in 2006. The L.U.CEUM invites visitors to follow the traces of time. An inventive museography highlights masterpieces of watchmaking from different periods and regions of Europe. Retracing five centuries of history, the collection is divided in themes. Rue des Moulins 20, 2114 Fleurier, Switzerland.
- MOSCOW KREMLIN MUSEUM - Moscow, Russia. The State Museums of the Moscow Kremlin house a small but impressive horological (The art of designing and making clocks) collection of 16th- to 19th-century works by Russian and Western European masters. In medieval times the watchmaker had also to be a jeweller who created intricate mechanism and ornate watch-cases of unusual shape.
- MUSÉE DE L'HORLOGERIE - 17, rue de la Glapiney, 25500 Morteau, France.
- MUSÉE DE L'HORLOGERIE et du DÉcolletage de Cluse - 100, place du 11 Novembre, Espace Carpano et Pons, 74300 Cluses, France.
- MUSÉE DE L'HORLOGERIE DE L'ÉMAILLERIE - Rue Charles-Galland 2, 1206 Geneva, Switzerland.
- MUSÉE D'HORLOGERIE DU LOCLE - The collections of clocks, watches, automata presented in a late 18th century manor house, pay tribute to talented craftsmen and artists. Château des Monts, Route des Monts 65, 2400 Le Locle, Switzerland.
- MUSÉE DU TEMPS DE BESANÇON - Palais Granvelle, 96 Grande rue, 25000 Besançon, France. The historical, technical and scientific aspects of time measurement are presented on the first two floors while the third floor hosts temporary exhibitions.
- MusÉe international d'horlogerie - "The mission of the Musée international d'horlogerie (MIH) is to collect and preserve objects relating to time, its measurement and watchmaking in general. The current collection, which is the largest in the world devoted to the history of time measurement, includes not only watches and clocks from the 16th century to the present day, of Swiss and international manufacture, but also tools, machines, instruments, automata, models or reconstructions of missing objects, as well as paintings, engravings and iconographic collections belonging to the various fields of time measurement." Rue des Musées 29, 2300 La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland.
- MUSEUM OF THE DUTCH CLOCK - Kalverringdijk 3, Zaanse Schans, 1509 BT Zaandam, The Netherlands. "The principal collection on Dutch horological items." Unique collection of historical Dutch clocks from 1500 until 1850. Specific types of clocks are exhibited in working order, divided over several cozy rooms. The collection gives an almost complete chronological survey of the evolution of Dutch clocks.
- Museum of timekeepers and mechanical musical instruments - Staatsstrasse 18, 3653 Oberhofen, Switzerland. The collection comprises clocks, pocket and pendant watches, wrist watches and exquisite musical rarities, barrel organs, reed and pipe organs, merry-go-round organs, orchestrions, music boxes and automatons.
- NATIONAL WATCH & CLOCK MUSEUM - since 1977. 514 Poplar Street Columbia, Columbia, Pennsylvania 17512, U.S.A. The Museum collection is international in scope and covers a wide variety of clocks, watches, tools, and other time-related items. Over 12,000 items. The largest collection is of nineteenth-century American clocks and watches.
- Neues Museum Biel - Check out the incredible (and quite often overlooked) collection of the Neues Museum – this is a close as you can get to visiting a Rolex museum. And there is a lot to learn about the city’s watchmaking. Seevorstadt 52, 2501 Biel/Bienne, Switzerland.
- OMEGA MUSEUM - "Our Past, Present and Future." Ground-breaking innovations, space travel, precision records, deep-sea adventures, Olympic Games timekeeping, James Bond - OMEGA’s legacy is truly extraordinary and the brand’s beautifully modern Museum in Switzerland is a fitting place to tell such an extraordinary story. Opened to the public in January 1984 and is the oldest watch museum dedicated to the history of a single brand. Along with some 4000 watches, the remarkable collection includes movements, clocks, instruments, tools, photos, engravings, posters, signs, awards and certificates. Nicolas G. Hayek Strasse 2, 2502 Biel/Bienne, Switzerland.
- PATEK PHILIPPE MUSEUM - "Philippe Stern’s passion for timepieces resulted in the opening in 2001 of a 'Temple to watchmaking': The Patek Philippe Museum. Located in an entirely restored Art Deco building in the area of Plainpalais in Geneva, the museum houses over five centuries of watchmaking history into two important collections: the extraordinary antique collection starting from the 16th century, which includes the earliest watch ever made and the Patek Philippe collection from 1839 onwards." Rue des Vieux-Grenadiers 7, CH-1205 Geneva, Switzerland.
- Prof. Dimas de Melo Pimenta Clock Museum - since 1950. Avenida Mofarrej, 840 Vila Leopoldina, São Paulo, Brazil. Collection with some 700 models, including pocket watches, wall clocks, table clocks, cuckoo clocks.
- Saint-Nicolas d'Aliermont Clock Museum - 48, rue Edouard Cannevel, 76510 Saint-Nicolas d’Aliermont, France. The only one of its kind in Normandy, the museum retraces the history of clockmaking and precision timekeeping, a traditional expertise in Aliermont, from the 18th century to the present day with attractive and interactive displays.
- SWISS NATIONAL MUSEUM - The Timepiece and Scientific Instrument Collection. "Switzerland is considered the homeland of the timepiece, for which reason the museum strives to maintain a representative cross-section of clock and watch making over the past 500 years, while at the same time acknowledging the core competence of the museums in Geneva, La Chaux-de-Fonds and Le Locle." Landesmuseum Zürich, Museumstrasse 2, 8021 Zurich, Switzerland.
- THE BILY CLOCKS MUSEUM - 323 S. Main Street, Spillville, Iowa 52168, U.S.A. "The clocks depict history, art, religion and culture and are covered with hundreds of expertly carved figures. Some stand over nine feet tall."
- The Grassy Clock & Watch Museum - since 1953. Gran Via 1, 28013 Madrid, Spain. The collection consists of mechanical clocks and watches and an outdoor sundial and covers the period from the 16th to the 19th century.
- The workshop and the museum of the watchmaker's - 37, rue Nationale, 35300 Fougères, France.
- TIMEXPO: THE TIMEX MUSEUM - 175 Union Street, Waterbury, Connecticut 06706, U.S.A. "Tells the story of Timex and its heritage dating back to 1854. Come see our collection of magnificent timepieces and time-related innovations where integrity and passion for cutting-edge technology have always remained at the forefront. Walk through our Time Tunnel, which leads to ancient mysteries, studies on cultural origins, hands-on activities and much more."
- TOKYOFLASH WATCH MUSEUM - virtual museum. "Tokyoflash watches are all limited edition and these designs are now no longer available to buy."
- Vacheron Constantin Heritage Centre - 7 Quai de l’Ile, 1204 Geneva, Switzerland. One-stop shop: boutique, heritage centre and brand archives. 100 of the brand’s 1000-plus heritage collection are on show (on rotation) at any one time.
- Villa JeanRichard - since 2004. Rue du Progrès 129, 2300 La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. Traces changes in watch tools and machinery over more than three centuries through more than one hundred collector's items.
- WILLARD HOUSE & CLOCK MUSEUM - 11 Willard Street, North Grafton, Massachusetts 01536, U.S.A. "Benjamin Willard began making clocks in his small, rural Massachusetts workshop in 1766. Today, over 80 Willard clocks are exhibited in the birthplace and original workshop of the Willard clockmakers."
- Zum RÖsli Clock Museum - Röslistrasse 46, 8006 Zurich, Switzerland. Antique clocks of some five hundred table clocks, wall clocks and longcase clocks from the 1460s to the 1900s.
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