Week 5
Spare parts and tools
In watchmaking tools and equipment are expensive…… like really expensive. This wouldn’t be a problem if you only had to get a dozen or so tools but in watchmaking there is a tool for everything. A lot of my tools only do one thing, that’s it: one thing. They can’t be used in any other way or for any other job. A lot of them aren’t necessary but they do make life a lot easier and in a lot of instances the customer gets a better job.
Purchasing tools and equipment is an ongoing activity. It never ends! In some cases it can become addictive and some watchmakers will hoard equipment and take it with them to the grave only for it to be used it once, maybe, when it could have come in handy to some young and upcoming watch or clock maker.
Watchmakers are traditionally hoarders. We hoard everything from watches, parts, tools and equipment. As I have been told: “you never know when it will come in handy!”. I have been fortunate enough that an incredibly nice watchmaker recently passed a great deal of his tools and equipment onto me. He has given me a lot of parts including the boxed sets of stems and staffs and although there is a chance that most of the time they might sit around collecting dust, I have no doubt that one of them will inevitably save my ass one day. These parts that he has given me aren’t made anymore, so they will allow me to repair someone else’s watch that they care deeply about because of his generosity. On top of this the tools he has given me aren’t made anymore and are extremely useful for certain jobs.
Watchmaking has a lot of barriers to entry, including: education, money, time, tools and experience. I think the least we can do is help the next generation coming. I know when I get old and can’t do it anymore I’ll return that favor by passing on what tools, parts and experience I have on to someone else.
In the mean time there are plenty of watches to repair and lots of things to learn. If you would like a watch or clock repaired in Adelaide please reach out and contact me. If you live in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane or anywhere around Australia I have just set up my DHL account so watches can be couriered around the country and picked up from your house! Easy as that.
Until next week.