Time is on watchmaker's side
That’s what it takes to be a watchmaker, said Jon Little, who practices the craft at Albert F. Rhodes Jewelers, 1325 Floral Parkway.
He must have those qualities and more. In August, Little was awarded the title of 21st Century Certified Watchmaker by the American Watchmakers-Clockmakers Institute.
The certification is especially meaningful because only 206 people in the country have won the certification – and only eight in North Carolina.
With that kind of certification, you can be assured this job is more than replacing batteries.
“I repair all kinds of watches – heirlooms, your boss’s nicest, finest Swiss timepieces” like Cyma, Omega, Tag Heuer, Baume & Mercier, Citizen, Seiko, even old Hamiltons and Elgins.
But most of his work is on Rolexes.
To provide a full servicing of a Rolex, he said, “You tear it down. You check it for any worn parts, repair any issues, clean it, put it back together, oil it and grease it, regulate it, refinish the case and bracelet, replace all the case gaskets and put it together properly to pass a pressure test,” Little explained. The pressure test makes sure that the watch is water-resistant according to its rating.
It’s not a short process. It takes four to six weeks for some repairs, but he plans to lower that to three to four weeks in the coming months, now that he’s not going to school.
School began in 2003, when he received his diploma from Gem City College in Quincy, Ill.
“I’ve apprenticed with two individuals in High Point, then opened my own shop in Salisbury,” Little said. But after about a year and a half he was hired away by a Raleigh jeweler, where he worked as an apprentice under its watchmaker.
“As an apprentice, you have to work odd jobs” to make ends meet.
But now it’s a full-time job as he and his wife, Amber, raise their 2-year-old girl, with another on the way.
“I’ve been at Rhodes for three years this November,” Little said.
To achieve his high certification, he studied for six to seven weeks for the watchmakers institute exam. In 2009, he went to Rolex, in Pennsylvania, for a week for after-sales service training. “You become more versed in their watches, learn to do it their way,” he said.
To keep his certification he must do 40 hours of continuing education every three to five years.
Repair often includes restoring parts, getting new ones, or even having them made.
“Rust always presents a good challenge,” Little said. “Usually the balance and the hairspring (balance) area gives more trouble than anything.
“The older the watch and wear, the harder it is to repair,” he said.
That includes the oldest watch he’s worked on – an early European pocketwatch, a cylinder escapement from around 1850.. Escapement refers to a device to control movement, he said. To see one in action, go to abbeyclock.com/bcyl.html.
It also was one of the lengthiest repairs he has done, he said. “I worked on it for six months and had to have parts made for it.”
Little thinks he has good job security because there is a shortage of watchmakers, he said.
And he remains a rarity for another reason.
The average age of watchmakers in North Carolina is 70-plus, said Little, who is 27.
Wayne Faulkner: 343-2320
On Twitter.com: @bizniznews
1 oz BURGUNDY Micro Metal Flake .004 Auto/Car Paint-Hot-Retail —-! Sale Only $9.95!
