Horologist Jim Michaels Is Keeping Time, History Alive

“I like ... taking something that hasn’t worked for 150 years and bringing it back to life,” says horologist Jim Michaels.

Michaels has been interested in the mechanical since he was a child; it was a watch, actually, that kick-started his interest. Tal Atzmon/NTD

GETTYSBURG, Pa.—When Jim Michaels got started in watchmaking, everyone coming through his shop was looking for something to tell time.

“When I started, everybody had to have a watch and everybody was constantly obsessed with the time it kept,” Michaels said.