The American Watchmakers-Clockmakers Institute (AWI) recently bestowed two of its prestigious awards—Institute Fellow and Lifetime Achievement—during its annual meeting, held this year in Florence, Ky.
The AWI Lifetime Achievement Award was given to AWI Certified Master Watchmaker Ron DeCorte of Toledo, Ohio. DeCorte served as AWI president in 2000 and 2001. The annual award recognizes a watchmaker or clockmaker for outstanding personal accomplishments such as inventions, innovations, creative ideas that meet a need, or recognized business success. DeCorte received the framed black marble award “for his many achievements in horology and the watches he has made,” said an AWI announcement.
The AWI Fellow Award and title was bestowed on jeweler and author David A. Christianson, a Certified Master Watchmaker and Certified Master Electronic Watchmaker, of Kendall, Ind. The title is the highest honor awarded by AWI and its board of directors and is conferred on an individual whose “outstanding and meritorious contributions to the field of horology on a national or international basis have enriched the field.”
Christianson’s books include Timepieces: Masterpieces of Chronometryand Wristwatches: A Connoisseur’s Guide. He is active in a number of horological groups, has served as president of the Northeast Indiana Watchmakers Guild and the Horological Association of Indiana, and is past chairman and a member of the Indiana State Board of Examiners in Watch Repairing. Also a member of the National Association of Watch & Clock Collectors, he served as a featured speaker at the group’s 2002 convention.
Headquartered in Harrison, Ohio, AWI has 4,000-plus members who are dedicated to setting the standard of excellence in the instruction and practice of quality horological repair and restoration work. AWI offers certification for its members, a library and museum, and financial assistance (through the Education Library and Museum Trust) to qualified students who attend recognized schools of horology.
For information, call (513) 367-9800 or visit www.awi-net.org.