This collection consists of 22 bells by Jean Wilmar (1919-1997), born in Klimmen and living in Valkenburg for a number of years. He was an autodidact and manufactured the clocks in their entirety himself, from design to finished product.

The collection also contains various watchmakers tools, partly also made by Wilmar, and a number of designs for clocks.
As a boy of fourteen he made his first timepiece with the help of a meccano box.

The clocks then became larger and more complicated and so he became a clockmaker by profession.

Through self-study, he achieved a high degree of proficiency. He made all the parts himself, down to the smallest cogs. He also made the carvings himself. He was not satisfied with just a flawlessly running timepiece. No, it was only good when it got complicated.
He only designed and manufactured original and exclusive clocks in his spare hours. Most of the day he was busy repairing all kinds of timepieces, with which he provided for his maintenance.
He worked on some clocks for several years and none were sold. The entire collection remained complete because Jan Wilmar could not renounce his life’s work.
Jan Arthur Willem Wilmar was born in Klimmen and lived there for a large part of his life. In the summer season, he and his wife showed interested people around the front room of the farm. From the tips he bought the materials for the next clock, already ticking in his head.