A Life Shaped by Craftsmanship
Raised on the South Coast of Massachusetts, an area rich in American history, craftsmanship, and horological tradition, Joshua Dupuis developed an appreciation for antiques and mechanical objects at an early age. That appreciation eventually grew into a particular fascination with antique clocks—not simply for their beauty, but for the ingenuity and craftsmanship hidden within their mechanisms.
A graduate of Montana State University with a degree in Horticulture, Joshua spent many years professionally in the green industry. His appreciation for historic objects, traditional craftsmanship, and working with his hands, however, continued to draw him toward horology.
Training & Experience
Joshua’s formal development in horology began through an apprenticeship in the Charlotte area under a longtime local horologist. This provided a foundation in the traditional methods of servicing, repairing, and understanding mechanical clocks.
Over the years, he continued to refine those skills through independent study, extensive bench work, and increasingly complex conservation projects.
More recently, Joshua has worked extensively with respected New England horologist Mike Gorman of Gorman Clocks, further developing his understanding of complex mechanical movements and the thoughtful approach required when working with significant and historically important timepieces.
With approximately ten years of practical horological experience, Joshua’s work through Village Time & Tide has increasingly become focused on conservation—the preservation of original mechanisms while returning them to reliable mechanical operation.
The Conservation Philosophy
Every antique clock carries evidence of the people who designed it, built it, maintained it, and lived with it.
That history deserves to be respected.
The objective of conservation is therefore not to make an old mechanism appear new. Original material, machining marks, finishes, construction techniques, and even appropriate evidence of age are part of the clock’s history.
Whenever practical, Joshua’s approach is to preserve original material, repair rather than replace, and make only the interventions necessary to restore proper mechanical function.
Previous repairs and alterations are evaluated individually. Some represent legitimate chapters in the clock’s working history and should remain. Others may compromise the mechanism and require careful correction.
Every decision is made with consideration for both the mechanical integrity and historical integrity of the timepiece.
The Workshop
From his workshop at Village Time & Tide in Wesley Chapel, North Carolina, Joshua works with mechanical clocks representing generations of horological craftsmanship.
Projects range from fine American and European clocks to complicated mechanisms and significant family heirlooms, including the demanding tubular-bell movements produced by makers such as Herschede, Waltham and many others.
Each project begins with examination and documentation before conservation work begins. The mechanism is allowed to guide the process rather than applying the same repair methodology to every clock.
This deliberate approach means that conservation work takes time.
The Responsibility of Preservation
For Joshua, being entrusted with an antique clock carries a responsibility.
Many of the clocks entering the workshop have survived for a century or more. Some have remained within the same family for generations. Others represent remarkable examples of a particular maker, period, or approach to mechanical engineering.
The responsibility of the conservator is not to erase that history.
It is to understand what has survived, preserve what remains, correct what is necessary, and help prepare the timepiece for the next generation.
That philosophy guides every project undertaken at Village Time & Tide.