Wednesday, January 5, 2011 Largest Collection of Clocks: Bill Williams sets world record COLYTON, New Zealand--Bill Williamsnever loses track of time, thanks to his collection of 3021 clocks - which sets the new worldrecord for theLargest Collection of Clocks.
The previous Guinness world record for theLargest Collection of Clockswas 1900.
They are worth anything from 50 cents to thousands of dollars. His collection includes everything from a hand-painted Victorian antique clock to a 12-centimetre-tall dachshund clock he picked up in Himatangi.
Guinness World Records also recognized The Smallest atomic clock: a prototype atomic clock the size of a grain of rice; with a volume of less than 10 mm³ (0.0006 in³), and drawing just 75 milliwatts of power, the chip-scale vapour atomic clock is accurate to one second in 3,000 years. It was built by the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST), in Boulder, Colorado, USA.
The earliest mechanical clock, i.e. one with an escapement, according to the Guinness World Records, was completed in China in AD 725 by Yi Xing and Liang Lingzan.
The collection began in 1988 when he wandered into a second-hand store in Auckland and spotted a nice mantel clock for his home.
He is not sure what it was about clocks that got him hooked, but ever since he has accumulated on average 10 a month.
The former Palmerston North Boys' High School teacher buys many of the clocks for bargain prices because they are broken. "I prefer if it's not working because it gives me something to do and it's cheaper."
His wife, Kathy, got fed up with hundreds of clocks filling their home, so he set up the museum in Colyton's former church in 2005. She can't complain too much as she has her own collection of more than 1000 mermaid ornaments.
Every Saturday Mr Williams winds up 150 of his museum clocks to varying times so the chimes go off at irregular intervals for visitors.
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