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Collectors

The Collectors: Elizabeth Roberts

The Brooklyn architect's fascination began with a beloved grandfather clock that chimed every quarter hour in her childhood home

By Ryan Waddoups
Woman sitting in a room with various wall clocks, a mantle clock, and a stack of books in the background.
Elizabeth Roberts in the living room of her Brooklyn townhouse, seated with (from left) a Twemco flip clock, a pendulum wall clock, a Viennese train station clock, and a Cuendet Swiss musical cuckoo clock. Photo: SARAH VOIGT-BELL

Elizabeth Roberts doesn’t think of herself a collector in the traditional sense.
“I trip into things,” admits the Brooklyn architect, best known for restoring
historic brownstones with restrained, intuitive precision. “Most of my belongings
find me while I’m shopping for other people.”

Her modest collection of wall clocks is no exception. The fascination began
with a beloved grandfather clock that chimed every quarter hour in her
childhood home, an early imprint that evolved into a casual yet deliberate
habit. The first one she bought for herself, in 2010—a small pendulum clock
marked with Chinese characters—presided over her family’s kitchen for
years before being stored away.

Person adjusting vintage clocks on a wall above a fireplace with logs and a digital clock on the mantle.
Viennese Train Station Clock, center, and Twemco Flip Clock, bottom. Photo: SARAH VOIGT-BELL
Person adjusting a decorative wooden cuckoo clock with Roman numerals and figurines.
Cuckoo Clock. Photo: SARAH VOIGT-BELL

Favorite finds: A train station timekeeper unearthed at a Vienna flea market
was converted to battery power by her go-to repairman in Brooklyn; it now
hangs above her fireplace. “It’s probably the most designed and beautiful,” she
says. She’s also fond of a silver Tiffany & Co. mantel clock and retro flip clock
in her studio, both packed with personality.

Collecting history: As smartphones make analog timekeeping feel obsolete,
Roberts views her trove as a tactile reminder of rhythm and presence. “There’s so
much going on in this little square on the wall,” she explains. “It’s so many
different forms of design and engineering coming together to serve a purpose.”

A version of this article first appeared in print in our 2025 Late Fall Issue under the headline “The Collectors.” Subscribe to the magazine.