Late last month in Evanston, Ill., a suburb of Chicago, a new museum of rare timepieces and inspirational stained glass opened to the public. The Halim Time & Glass Museum features one of the most comprehensive timepiece collections, with approximately 1,100 pieces on display. The museum also showcases faithfully restored 19th century stained glass works of art.
The collection of extraordinarily rare timepieces consists of clocks from all over the world. The Museum was founded by Cameel Halim, who — along with his family — own most of these pieces as part of their personal passion.
The watch collection is so extensive that the museum has hired two full-time clockmakers, who are skilled in repair and restoration. They are also entrusted to keep the clocks wound and running.
The earliest piece in the museum’s collection is an Egyptian sundial. There is also a room dedicated to the imperial Chinese clocks and an English room with important British clocks made by such masters as Thomas Tompion and George Graham, among others. There is also a nice collection of American clocks that details the history of how U.S. clockmakers led advances in mass manufacturing in the early 1800s.
Special pieces include a clock made for Napoleon, an elephant clock from 1750 said to have been in the summer palace of Russian empress Catherine the Great, and a German longcase clock from 1785 that contains a dulcimer and a pipe organ. It is one of just eight of its kind known to exist in the world.
So, if you find yourself in Chicago, you may want to carve out a little extra time for a visit to this new museum.
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