Since clocks began to bring order to the passing of temporary time, they have also begun something else: break.
If you own it for a long enough time, something will probably not work. It runs slowly. Or fast. Or stop completely.
Decades ago, watch repair shops across the country had engineers who could serve almost any mechanical watch when complex internal organs (small gear, wheels, springs) failed. However, when the US surveillance industry fell in the mid-20th century, the number of artisans who could modify or manufacture watches began to decline.
There were 1,880 US watch repair companies in 2023, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
This 23% decline, in addition to previous losses, has led to labeling the situation as a workforce crisis. Despite the ubiquity of mobile phones and their easy timekeeping, they lie amid the interest in mechanical watches and the modest revitalization of the American watch industry. Swiss giant Rolex makes over a million watches on its own.
As they get older, who can serve them all? Or do you want them to dream of something new?
The shortage of new watchmaking schools where students learn about repairs, manufacturing, or both is at the heart of the problem. After several programs have been shut down in recent decades, there are four full-time independent surveillance schools remaining in the US
One watch company, Torrance-based JN Shapiro Watches (manufacturer of the $70,000 revival model), is one of a handful of US-based companies struggling to hire watchmakers.
Rolex has a solution on the repair side.
In September, Rolex debuted a new Watch Enforcement School in Dallas.
(TarickFoteh/Rolex Watch USA)
In September, the Geneva-based company debuted its new watchmaking school at the Rolex Watch Training Center in Dallas. The program’s 18-month curriculum focuses on training students to serve brand-made watches. The final six months of schooling include an immersive component in which students repair Rolex timekeepers under the supervision of instructors.
After graduation, participants will be able to work for the Rolex-related jewellers and the company itself. A Rolex spokesperson said most of the first class schools that graduated in February next year have already secured employment. They can expect annual salaries starting from the $75,000-85,000 range, depending on the location.
School is free. A spokesman for the company said in a statement that the Dallas program, which welcomes just 27 students per class, represents the company’s “large commitment to meeting industry demand.”
Popular Rolex models include the Green Submariner Dive Watch, which collectors call the “Hulk” and the GMT Master II.
(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
Rolex focuses on training watches and working exclusively on watches, distinguishing its programs from independent schools. This usually teaches students how to work with all types of watches and identifies graduates with expertise in subjects such as micromechanics and repairs.
“I think there’s a need for a balance between technicians, but then I think there’s a need for a more full-service watchmaker,” said Tony Train, who publishes industry newsletter Unrefined Watches. “The way the profession is evolving now – it seems we’re heading in that direction. The world’s Shapiros is with the world’s Rolex. I think we’ll reach equilibrium.”
Rolex opened a more traditional watchmaking school in the United States in 2001. This is Lititz Watch Techum in Pennsylvania, but it closed after its final class graduated this month. The Rolex School in Dallas is in high demand, with 400 applicants in the second class starting in September, and another 560, with 560 more.
Among applicants, the spokesman said he was the first Texan to be surprised that it could become a “viable career on an established education track.”
The average student age for the first two classes is 28. Some people are recognized straightforwardly for high school, while others have university degrees. Students have backgrounds in fields such as engineering and accounting, and have careers as musicians, teachers and communications professionals.
The revival model for the JN Shapiro Watches starts at $70,000 and is made in Torrance.
(Robert Gautier/Los Angeles Times)
As head of an independent watch company, Joshua Shapiro said it would be extremely difficult to find six watchmakers working for him in Torrance.
“It required a lot of networking,” Shapiro said. Shapiro added that his team has been gathering for several years and that three watchmakers came from Rititz School.
One of those watchmakers is Spencer Torok, 25, who graduated from Lititz three years ago. After graduating from high school, Hilliard, Ohio, attended the University of Dominica, Ohio, where he took accounting classes. However, Trock realized he wanted to make a difference during the Covid-19 pandemic. He said he had been interested in watches for a long time, and enrolled at Lititz.
Spencer Torok, a watchmaker at JN Shapiro Watches, polishes some of the watches. (Robert Gautier/Los Angeles Times)
Trock said that the school only surprised his passion and that he would not have been hired by Shapiro if it weren’t for the education he received at Lititz. “Well,” he said with a laugh. “Training someone requires a lot of resources.”
Some American watch companies had to go abroad to hire.
Cameron Weiss, whose name was founded in LA in 2013 and later moved to Nashville, said he needed to look to Switzerland to recruit watchmakers. “For the past 12 years, I’ve been looking for someone with that skill level,” Weiss said.
This month, Weiss went back to Switzerland to scout for the workers. He hopes Dallas’ Rolex program will help stimulate watch education in the US
Joshua Shapiro said it would be extremely difficult to find a watchmaker who currently works for a Torrance-based company.
(Robert Gautier/Los Angeles Times)
One of the last remaining full-service watchmaking schools in the United States is Paris Junior College in Texas. Program coordinator Garryn Fraise (24 years old) graduated in 2019. He was seduced by a former instructor last year and he asked to take over.
“We’re independent, so we’re a little open to the curriculum,” said Fraze, head instructor for the program.
Like the Rolex School in Dallas, the Paris programme is small and houses around 20 students. But Fraze wants to expand it. He knows how strong the demand is for watchmakers, including those who can repair Rolexes.
After graduating from the Paris program, he got a job as an in-house watchmaker for a Fort Worth jeweller.
It was a certified Rolex dealer.
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