A specialist who assembles, adjusts, services or repairs watches and their movements.
Watchmakers can work in production or in the servicing of watches already sold. A production watchmaker assembles mechanical or electronic movements and external parts, then checks the completed watch against quality procedures. Service work begins with assessing the watch and can range from battery replacement or bracelet adjustment to a full movement overhaul. The level of intervention depends on the movement and the watchmaker’s training. Patek Philippe distinguishes sales support and diagnostic operations from overhauls of quartz, manual and automatic movements. A job title therefore needs to be read alongside its stated duties and technical scope.
In job listings
Harrods advertised a Watchmaker position at its Service Centre in Hammersmith to carry out full services, dial and hand fitting, and partial repairs on pre-qualified Rolex calibres. Work on models with complication modules depended on training, giving a concrete example of how an employer defines the technical limits of a watchmaker’s service responsibilities. Search local jobs for “watchmaker”.
