Watch, Clock, and Jewelry Repair

Most watch, clock, and jewelry repair shops are small, privately-owned firms, often affiliated with local jewelry retailers. Large watch, clock, and jewelry makers may also have divisions devoted solely to repairing their products. Watch, clock, and jewelry repair firms fix malfunctioning and broken timepieces and jewelry.

The industry's watch and clock repair technicians (called horologists) replace broken or worn parts mainly with factory replacement parts. Technicians are able to repair both older mechanical and newer battery-operated quartz timepieces. When working with older timepieces, however, technicians often make replacement parts themselves. Approximately 60 percent of the more than 4,475 watch, clock, and jewelry repairers in the United States in 2008 were self-employed, and 92 percent of the firms had fewer than five employees. Many self-proprietors operate their own repair shops or have contracts with jewelry retailers and department stores. Many new horologists found jobs with jewelry retail stores or department stores, and many large clock, watch, and jewelry makers employed horologists in their repair departments. Most repair technicians were members of the the national watch, clock, and jewelry repair trade organization known as American Watchmakers-Clockmakers Institute.

Parsec Enterprises, Inc., based in Peoria, Illinois, has the largest independent watch service facility in North America. Since 1977, the company has serviced more than 1.3 million watches.

In the early 1990s, the United States had a shortage of qualified repair technicians. Analysts estimated that nine out of ten Americans owned watches, and watch and jewelry sales rose consistently throughout the 1990s. However, widespread sales of inexpensive electronic watches reduced business for repair shops because the watches are cheaper to replace than to repair. The decrease, however, has been offset by higher replacement battery sales.

Watch, clock, and jewelry repairers trained for one or two years at vocational schools, technical institutes, or junior colleges. Some states require repair technicians to be licensed. The National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors, Inc. (NAWCC), a nonprofit scientific organization, operates the NAWCC School of Horology.