The Watch at the Historical Society  By Judith Green  The watch
must be handled with white cotton gloves, which make the visitor
feel a little like Minnie Mouse. But the oils and acids on the
skin would eventually leave their mark on its gold case, its
delicate works, and the tiny pen-and-ink drawings on silk that
line the watchcase lid.  No. 3675 in the inventory of objects
held by the Moravian Historical Society in Nazareth, the watch
is something of an anomaly in both function and craftsmanship.
Much of the society’s collection—which after years in storage is
in the process of being catalogued by executive director Susan
Dreydoppel ’74 and curator Mark Turdo ’97—consists of furniture,
musical instruments, objects of the household and the
schoolroom: solid, well-made stuff designed for practical use
over several lifetimes. The watch is a furbelow, and the
Moravians were not known for furbelows.  Its story goes back to
the Young Ladies’ Seminary (forerunner of Moravian College for
Women) and therefore might