The Clockmakers' Charity has approved an ambitious plan to mount a series of annual specialist displays in our Museum, featuring extraordinary objects loaned from some of the very finest private collections. These will be housed in a dedicated showcase at the western end of our gallery at the Science Museum.

The 17th of September 2023 will mark 200 years since the death of Abraham Louis Breguet and our first exhibition, due to open in autumn 2023, has the working title Breguet, The English Connection. This will begin the series, and several of the displays for succeeding years are already advanced in planning.

Our Museum features a world-class collection, and we have a clear mandate to promote the subject of horology to as wide an audience as possible. Alongside the treasures in our existing gallery, this new display initiative will give us the opportunity to show further items, many of which have rarely been seen in public before. This will not only appeal to those already familiar with the Clockmakers' Collection, but also attract attention from the broadest of audiences, worldwide, with interests across the most diverse elements of our subject.

To implement this exciting plan, at the West end of the gallery we need to re-case the display of contemporary hand-engraving on silver, and remodel an existing showcase to best support the needs of the annual display programme. In addition, there are costs associated with administering and transporting objects from within the UK and overseas, the management of which will be handled by the Science Museum on our behalf. This involves a substantial commitment of expertise and effort from the Science Museum team, and has been generously pledged by Sir Ian Blatchford, the Director. We aim to produce appropriate interpretation, including narratives to explain how individual makers and objects made their mark on Society, form and function.

There are very significant expenses involved in mounting the new display programme. Some of these are one-off costs, and the single largest expense is the acquisition of new cases from the specialist firm Meyvaerts, and their work to adapt two existing ones. Some smaller costs will occur with each new display (such as transport). The initial budget for 2023, including contingencies, is a fraction over £100,000, and the Clockmakers Charity has underwritten this amount, though this very much exceeds income, and in reality the Charity needs to raise this sum in order to balance the books.

We have therefore launched this appeal to raise £100,000 from all sources, and hope that many will support this exciting horological initiative, which will draw much increased attention to our wonderful Museum.