a dozen of different antique clocks and automations on a table.

The antique tools used to keep timeless timepieces ticking

To repair intricate clockworks and watches from eras past, an antiquarian horologist may fabricate parts by hand.

To conserve and restore historic clocks and the clockwork showpieces called automatons—an example is top left in this photo—antiquarian horologist Brittany Nicole Cox relies on some specialized tools that themselves are antiques.
This story appears in the February 2021 issue of National Geographic magazine.
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