Clock, stock and a Guinness Record: What makes Robert Kennedy tick?

The collector’s smallest timepiece, for instance, is a 1.5-inch pendulum clock, a rare and unique Swiss antique made in 1860. He found it at a scrap shop in Chennai, bought it for ₹75 in 1995, and it still keeps time.

It’s among the 2,300 timepieces that earned the Chennai-based collector his recent Guinness world record, for person with the most mechanical clocks. The Guinness panel only recognised 1,706 of his timepieces (excluding his 509 pocket watches and 750 wristwatches, all mechanical too). He still broke the record held by Jack Schoff, an American with 1,300 clocks. Schoff didn’t have the smallest pendulum clock, Kennedy says proudly.

“I think many Indians are eligible for Guinness world records but the problem is we are not aware and equipped with amenities to document or register the talent, which is also important,” he adds.

The 58-year-old says he can trace his love of timepieces to his early teens. He remembers his father telling him a clock-related story about his grandfather, VS Jesudian, who worked as a head clerk at numerous British-owned tea estates in Munnar. As a token of appreciation at some point in his career, Jesudian was gifted an Ansonia calendar clock. It became the family’s pride and joy.

“As a boy, I would hold the stool while my father wound the clock every week and retold the story. When my father moved on to a battery-operated clock in 1983, I took the Ansonia as a prized possession.”

At that point, Kennedy was a college student living in Nagercoil. A decade later, he would marry Teeni Joy, and together they would raise two daughters (“who do not have much liking towards the collection”). Through those years, Kennedy’s passion for clocks grew. He visited scrap shops and flea markets across the country, restored the clocks he found with the help of clock repairers, became an expert at clock carpentry and cleaning.

Now retired, he had a career as a computer hardware engineer and later as a real-estate agent, but admits he was “born with a silver spoon”, and doesn’t have to worry about the money his clocks cost him.

“Still, the collection seemed bizarre to me,” says Teeni, 58, chuckling. “Gradually I started understanding that it is Robert’s passion. Every clock has a story behind it. The oldest one in the collection is a handmade British clock that is about 286 years old.”

That’s her favourite one, because it’s an anniversary clock, which means it only needs winding once a year. “Robert tends to forget all the special days. But this clock has to be wound on our anniversary, so it always reminds him of that.”

Caring for the clocks has become a post-retirement career. Just winding them all would take about three days, Kennedy says. “So I wind about 150 clocks a day. When important visitors are coming I wind about 300 clocks.”

About 14 years ago, Kennedy bought his clocks their own home, a 700-sq-ft flat above his own. “It was hard keeping them under the sofa set or below the cot, packed in cartons, etc,” he says. This is now a clock museum that’s free and open to all.

“The idea of applying for the Guinness record came after I watched videos of clock collectors in Europe,” says Kennedy. “I realised I had such a good antiques collection that it deserved to be recognised.”

He applied to the Guinness Book in 2017. After submitting evidence via video recording, officials interviewed him, verified that all timepieces were working, and, in November 2022, the record was published.

His next goal is to secure the future of his clocks. After his death, he doesn’t want the collection to be broken up and sold. “I want it to be safe and secure.” He’s hoping he can set up a trust that will continue to fund the museum, and then hand that quietly ticking legacy over to the government. “I want to dedicate these timepieces to future generations,” he says.