Watchmaking

So I think I'd like to try out this watchmaking thing...

Good Idea!

For me, learning the craft of watchmaking has been one of those experiences where you have to struggle against frustration for many months, & then the breakthrough comes.  I was well into my 1st year of watchmaking school before the theory of the case clicked, "Oh, that's what makes the little lever go back & forth!!".  Well worth the time & effort invested.

I am fortunate in that I live in the Pacific Northwest & close to one of America's few remaining independent watchmaking schools, Norwest School of Horology.  Norwest provides superb introductory programs for those interested in taking up watchmaking & clockmaking as a hobby.  This is much in the vein of a continuing education program & short of a Technical Certificate program like one might pursue in order to start a career in watchmaking.  But, as it happens, the Seattle area also has North Seattle College offering both certificate & degree programs for those seeking a career as a professional watchmaker.

For most of the 20th century & up until the 1970's, most vocational schools would have included a watchmaking stream, alongside all the regular carpentry, electrical, & plumbing trades we still recognise today.  The advent of battery powered quartz watches seemed to signal the end of traditional watchmaking, & today only a small handful of watchmaking schools remain.

However, following what industry watchers commonly call "The Quartz Crisis", traditional mechanical watches entered a renaissance.  Today people interested in watches have a broad array of choices for traditional watches, starting in price at not much more than a regular quartz watch up to sky's-the-limit.

People come to an interest in watches for all different reasons, & most will find that there is a market there to serve.  For me, the movement is the watch.  I am primarily interested in the mechanics & engineering of the watch movement, & so the watchmaking work I do as a hobby is mostly focused on movement restoration.  For anyone interested in seeing how it's done, go ahead & take a look at the Restoration section.

YouTube is rich in watch-related topics, including instructional videos for watchmaking.  Among the best is the Watch Repair Channel.  This channel also has many followers who are not necessarily aspiring watchmakers, just people who find the processes relaxing & entertaining.  Mark Lovick, host of the Watch Repair Channel, also offers the very good watchFix online program for an introduction to watchmaking & beyond.  If I had not had the opportunity to attend the Norwest school, then I likely would have enrolled in the watchFix online program.

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