About
David Walter
David Walter offers his customers a
wealth of international experience and horological knowledge that
few people in the world can match.
Fascinated with clocks from an early
age, David began his working career as an apprentice to a watchmaker.
After completing this training, he worked for the prestigious Crown
Jewellers Garrard & Co., Regent Street, in London's West End.
Three years later, he was employed by the Omega Watch Co. in Vienna,
Austria.
In eight years with Omega, David gained
valuable expertise, but he was already setting his sights on a world
beyond repairing modern wrist watches. In the evenings, David had
been restoring antique pocket watches for private collectors. Eventually
the allure of antique timepieces, with their rich history of innovation
and remarkable craftsmanship, became David's passion.
He brought his craft back to his native
Perth, Australia, and began building his reputation as a maker of
his own fine timepieces.
David now makes his home in Buellton,
California. He has become known as not only a highly skilled clockmaker,
but a formidable horologist. He has lectured on the intricacies
of clock movements at events sponsored by the British Horological
Institute (BHI) and the National Association of Watch and Clock
Collectors (NAWCC). His creations are internationally recognized
as among the highest quality artisan-made mechanical clocks produced
today.
He continues to offer the highest quality
clock repair and restoration services to the following communities:
Santa Barbara, Solvang, Santa Ynez, Los Olivos, Buellton, Santa
Maria, San Luis Obispo, Lompoc, Carpenteria, Ojai, Ventura, Camarillo,
Thousand Oaks, Sherman Oaks, Beverly Hills and Santa Monica. The
antique clocks that he restores and sells himself can be shipped
anywhere in the world.
Awards
1987- NAWCC National Convention
- First Prize in Class 1: Single Train Clock Movements category
for his Skeletonized Jewelers Regulator
- First Prize in Class 6: Original Movement Designs for his Great
Wheel Skeleton Clock.
2002- NAWCC National Convention
- First Prize in Class 1: Single-Train Clock Movement-Metal, for
his year-running great wheel skeleton clock.
- First Prize in Class 4: Complicated Clock Movement for his version
of an Austrian Laterndluhr. This clock was also awarded the Peoples
Choice Award.
Affiliations
- Fellow of The British Horological Institute.
- Member of the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors.
- Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers, London, England
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Testimonials
I know fine clocks when I see them and also know many craftsmen
but honestly feel David Walter is the best clockmaker alive
today. In America there are a few really great craftsmen in
the field of horology. But, David Walter makes us all look
like beginners.
C.E. Beacham III,
Award-winning clock-maker
I first became aware of David Walter's work over twenty years
ago from an illustration in the Horological Journal (magazine
of the B.H.I.). I at once realized that whoever designed and
built this clock would become a formidable competitor, and
so it has proved. In my opinion after a lifetime in this field,
David Walter ranks among the top five clockmakers in the world.
Michael Harding, former CEO of Sinclair Harding & Co.,
Fellow of the British Horological Institute and a clockmaking
veteran of 30 years
David Walter, without a doubt, is the finest clockmaker practicing
the art today. I would even say that he ranks highly with
the best makers of the past.
To the uninitiated what I say may appear to be overblown
hyperbole. But I have studied the work of practically every
significant living clockmaker and the work of most of the
great past makers and I can honestly say that the work of
David Walter is as good as any of them and far better than
most. This man's work has made a significant contribution
to the art and science of clockmaking and it will be appreciated
for generations to come.
Herbert A. Gold, an accomplished and avid horologist who
has designed timing systems for NASA moon probes
Mr. Walter is one of only a handful of people on the planet
who can design and manufacture mechanical clocks of the very
highest order of horological design ingenuity, quality of
craftsmanship, and esthetic perfection.
John G. Kirk, Ph.D, owner of a clock gear company and collector
David is without a doubt, and without any equivocation, the
finest craftsman I have ever had the privilege to know.
Jay Foreman, accomplished watch and clockmaker
David Walter is an extraordinary, world-class horologist,
and a prominent member of the international horological community.
His unique talents are the result of years of specialized
training, experience and an innate sense of creativity and
design. Furthermore, his contributions have advanced the field
of horology. Simply put, there are no other clockmakers of
Mr. Walter's caliber living and working in California or the
western United States.
Gold Book 18th Annual Edition
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