Time is precious

Colyton man Bill Williams has set a new world record for the Largest Collection of Clocks; Williams owns 321 timepieces. The previous Guinness world record for the Largest Collection of Clocks was 19. They are worth anything from 5 cents to thousands of dollars. His collection includes everything from a hand-painted Victorian antique clock to a 12cm-tall dachshund clock he picked up in Himatangi. He is not sure what it was about clocks that got him hooked, but since 1988, when the collection began, he has accumulated on average 1 a month. The former Palmerston North Boys’ High School teacher buys many of the clocks for bargain prices because they are broken. “I prefer if it’s not working because it gives me something to do and it’s cheaper.”