Thu, Nov 29, 2001 page24

• Watchmaking schools help fill growing void

  MECHANICAL TIMEPIECES After years of experienced people leaving the industry, most watchmakers in the US are over 50 years of age and young talent is in demand

  • AP
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  The daughter of an auto mechanic, Brigitte Keesey has a combination of interests that make her a good candidate for working with intricate and beautiful timepieces.

  "I used to work in a wood shop, and I was in school for art," Keesey said. "If you combine the two of them, somewhere you find watch repair."

  

  Brigitte Keesey, a student at the Lititz Watch Technicum institution in Lititz, Pennsylvania, works in the classroom making a tiny part for a watch on Nov. 6.

  PHOTO: AP

  Dearth of expertise

  

  Odell Potter, right, Jennifer Bahar, center, and Brigette Keesey, students at the Lititz Watch Technicum, work on watches Nov. 6 in Lititz, Pennsylvania. The nonprofit, tuition-free school is Rolex's answer to a dearth of skilled watchmakers following the advent of electronic quartz timepieces.

  PHOTO: AP

  Keesey, 23, is in the first class of students at the Lititz Watch Techni-cum -- Swiss manufacturer Rolex's answer to the dearth of skilled watchmakers that has occurred amid the popularity of electronic quartz timepieces.

  The school is managed by a foundation created by Rolex and is operated under the guidance of a Swiss institution. It opened in September in this Pennsylvania Dutch region that has long ties to clock and watch craftsmanship.

  The tuition-free school, which plans to take in 12 artisans a year, is a step toward filling a growing void -- only 10 watchmaking schools remain in the US, compared with 44 in the mid-1970s, according to the American Watchmakers-Clockmakers Institute.

  An overabundance of watchmakers and the growing popularity of cheaper quartz watches in the 1970s led to tough times in the business as well as a widespread belief that mechanical timepieces were on their way out. Many watchmakers left the industry and pursued work with defense contractors, where their ability to work with intricate mechanics was in demand.

  But sales of mechanical timepieces, especially high-grade ones, have made a comeback, said Charles Berthiaume, director of the school. The improvement in business created a demand for people who know how to fix the timepieces, which tend to be more expensive and more likely to need regular servicing than their electronic counterparts.

  "With the shortage of watchmakers, we're literally missing a generation," Berthiaume explained. "The average age of a watchmaker in this country is in the mid-50s."

  Micromechanics

  Inside one of the classrooms, students sit quietly at workbenches fashioning pieces of machinery less than 2.5cm in length. The school starts its students with a course in micromechanics, which involves the making of tiny parts.

  The learning process can be long and laborious.

  Ron Landberg spent a day making a small, pin-like part only to discover that he had erred by thousandths of a centimeter and had to start all over again. A hobbyist who decided to turn his avocation into a full-time craft, Landberg wrote off the experience as an exercise in patience.

  The same patience is needed when a spinning lathe sends a part shooting from the grasp of tweezers and across the room, with only a tiny ping disclosing where it landed.

  "Right now, everything we're doing is setting the foundation for being able to do things that people can't do anymore," said Landberg, 37, noting that most modern watch repairs involve simply replacing broken parts with pre-made components.

  "We're learning how to make those parts," he said.

  By the end of the second year, students at the Lititz school will have learned skills allowing them to fix most brands of watches, both mechanical and electronic, Berthiaume said. Ideally, students will find work alongside a more experienced watchmaker, where they can continue their education, he said.

  When they graduate, all indications are that they will be in demand in an industry hungry for young talent.

  "We have 100 percent placement," said Daniel Nied, director of the school of horology operated by the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors in nearby Columbia. Horology is the study of measuring time or making timepieces.

  Many graduates earn between US$35,000 and US$40,000 a year when they start out, but salaries of US$60,000 or more after several years are possible, said James Lubic, executive director of the American Watchmakers-Clockmakers Institute.

  Manufacturers' support

  Other manufacturers, too, are looking at providing support for schools, although none so far have taken the step that Rolex has, said Lubic, who is seeking industry support for another new school.

  Although mechanical watches account for only about 10 percent of production in the watch industry, they make up more than 50 percent of revenue, Lubic said. The average price of a mechanical watch is nearly US$1,000, making them items that are not merely thrown away when in disrepair.

  "There's so much opportunity out there," Lubic said. "There are jobs working with industry. There are retailers all over the country, all over the world, that are begging for watchmakers to come in and service what they sell."
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