The Horological Society of New York (HSNY) held its 157th anniversary Gala & Awards Ceremony on Saturday, April 15, 2023, where it awarded a record-breaking $125,000 in financial aid to 20 watchmaking students and four U.S. watchmaking schools, and raised an additional $25,000 toward its mission to advance the art and science of horology.
The historic Harvard Club of New York City served as the backdrop of HSNY’s gala once again, where 270 guests from around the world gathered to toast to one of the world’s oldest continuously operating horological associations and support the newest generation of watchmakers with scholarships.
“The 2023 gala broke records in every way for the Horological Society of New York,” said Carolina Navarro, HSNY Deputy Director. “An increasing demand to attend allowed us to max out capacity and draw crowds from top watch brands, VIPs, influencers, and even celebrities, who showed up in style to support our now 157-year-old society.”
At the gala, HSNY presented its largest offering of financial aid to date, and awarded more students than ever before.
Steve Eagle, HSNY’s Director of Education, presented a ceremonial $125,000 giant check to Mary Raso, student at the Lititz Watch Technicum, and Jose Weinberger, student at the Nicolas G. Hayek Watchmaking School, who accepted the award on behalf of all recipients. (Please see below a full list of financial aid recipients.)
“For context, in 2017 we awarded one scholarship to one student, and this year we awarded 20 students and four schools,” said Nicholas Manousos, HSNY Executive Director. “This is made possible through the generous donations from our sponsors, our dedicated members, and gala supporters.”
Earlier this year, HSNY introduced three new financial aid opportunities for watchmaking students across the country — The Charles London Scholarship for Watchmaking Students, The Charles Sauter Scholarship for Innovation in Horology, and The Simon Willard Award for School Watches.