Clock Maker at Gwathmey

The Clock Maker at Gwathmey is a business owned and operated by Mark Pellmann, known by many in the Central Virginia area who have had one or more clocks repaired or restored by him since he began working as a Master Clock maker in November of 1982. Prior to coming to Virginia, Mark had his own repair shop in a small town in western Pennsylvania. The Clock Maker at Gwathmey in Ashland, Virginia (approximately 15 miles north of Richmond) is Mark's personalized clock repair and restoration shop. Mark graduated from Bowman Technical School in Lancaster, Pennsylvania in 1980 with diplomas for Watch making and Repair, Hand Engraving, and Clock making and Repair. In May 1982 he earned the title of Certified Master Clock maker (CMC) from the American Watchmakers-clock makers Institute (AWCI). In order to qualify for the title of CMC, a clock maker must pass both written and practical exams, as well as prove his ability through a series of practical tests involving the restoration of a Westminster chime clock and making a working replacement escapement for a clock. While at Bowman Technical School, Mark spent months making a precision regulator clock mechanism. This involved making the plates, pillars, and screws; cutting gears and pinions to fit; making the barrel, ratchets, springs, hands, bracket, and invar temperature compensated pendulum; and drawing and then making the escapement. In short, we are making an entire clock using steel stock, brass stock and rough brass castings. All this went into making a mechanical clock accurate to better than two seconds a month. Over the past 20 years Mark has been working to perfect his craft as a clock maker. He works on carriage clocks, ship's clocks and other clocks with hairsprings and balance escapements; French and Viennese clocks with their fine pivots and gearings; antique English spring driven clocks with fuses and complicated designs that sometimes include automation; and all forms of the modern Grandfather clocks. Hi...