Agreed, it should be demanding as if not, it is worthless. I think they pitch it about right with it being difficult but not impossible. So, after a good Wednesday, now the practical tests on Thursday and Friday. Arrived in good time for the Thursday quartz exam and unpacked my large collection of tools. It turned out that the BHI had most of them available but, I was taking no chances. You're supplied with a quartz watch with some faults introduced by the examiner. The idea is to test the watch, identify the faults, strip, clean, review for further faults and reassemble/oil and test again. The watch had a Ronda 1015 calibre which is not the best but, I have one of these so not a real issue. The room was full (8 people) and most people expected an ETA 955.112 (or some such) so not everyone was that happy, I suspect. Obvious faults were a broken stem and missing insulation pad for the battery but there were some others in there as well such as a bent wheel and a lightly deformed stop lever so it doesn't earth the stepping motor when the crown is pulled out. It seems they have a series of faults so you don't all get the same - they need to do this as, after 4 hours, there is a break for lunch and you could tell others what the faults were.... I was very nervous at the start and having problems holding screwdrivers let alone screws/springs and so on. I'm not exactly sure why this was as I'm used to being under pressure in my current job. Anyway, can't be a problem as I do this sort of thing daily. Can it? After an hour or so, I settled down, the morning went very well and 30 minutes before lunch, I had the basic movement back together and tested. Good consumption and date change worked well. So, I popped the hour wheel, dial and hands on that and went for lunch. All that was left to do was trim the new stem, case and final test so, 30 minutes work and I still had 2 hours to go.... Up to now, no issues and was very relaxed. Unfortunately, when cased, the consumption rose by 30%-40% and that pushed it out of the allowable spec. So, I had two options: 1. Check that the second hand was not grazing the underside of the crystal. If it was clear (which it was), then remove the hands and dial and re-check hour wheel end shake and dial centering on the hour wheel. These are the only possibilities for this issue, as that's all I'd done after the previous test, and I had an hour and a half. This is what I'd do in my workshop. 2. Spend 45 minutes checking other things that were completely unrelated and get myself in a complete funk so I couldn't do anything at all. I chose option 2... In the end, with time in hand still to revert to option 1, I submitted this watch with high consumption and notes explaining the possible issues as I'd lost my ability to do any practical work due to my nerves. In my workshop, if I suddenly get an unexpected problem, I'll put it down and do something else until it's clear in my mind and then come back to it. Not an option here, obviously, so we'll see if explaining the issue shows the examiner that I just ran out of time to resolve it. To be fair, they allow at least 50% more time than I'd need at my bench so, it was just me getting myself nervous. A bad end to Thursday as it knocked my confidence for Friday which was to be the mechanical watch exam. I was well prepared for the quartz having built that particular calibre and half a dozen others a few times so just saw it as the warm up for the mechanical test. Didn't have a good night at all but made some decisions about why I'm doing this course and what I'll do in the future (more another day) and, still annoyed with myself, went into the Friday exam with an attitude of just work as I would at my own bench and it'll be fine. I've done a lot of mechanical watches now and this was to be the simplest configuration without any complications at all so had to be fine... Friday was a seven hour practical with an ETA 6497 - just three people on this one so a very relaxed atmosphere. The watch they give you is a specific ETA watch for test centres (not seen one of these before). Again, faults were introduced and the first obvious fault on mine was half of the crown wheel teeth were missing. Second obvious fault was a broken upper Incabloc spring so, no point in replacing the crown wheel to test in the before condition. It took me 3 minutes to remove the back and 30 minutes to get the flipping bezel off (!) as the movement came out the front. I have never experienced such a tight bezel and at my bench I would have given in and found my little used bezel remover but none available there. Usually, the razor/knife works easily but not here. Ah well, movement out eventually. A few other faults on strip down such as very slightly bent wheels and a coned hairspring but all shakes were fine and everything seemed good. The upper Inca spring is easy to replace if you just push the bloc out a little and then fit the new one. Took my own Horia tool but could have just used theirs. Do this and then check the end shake after pushing the bloc back in. Cleaned all and then fitted the balance cock to readjust the hairspring which is easy to do on these with the ETACHRON system. Assembled all the base movement and set up, then tested - just doing what I'd usually do and not putting pressure on myself. Ran beautifully with 280+ degrees after just 30 minutes running so will be 300 after a day or two. Few hairspring slight tweaks and it was close to chronometer spec - these ETA calibres really are great although I much prefer a 2892 to the 6497. Fitted dial and hands now checking everything twice (!) and off to lunch. Three hours left after lunch as it's a seven hour exam so, cased again and rechecked the performance, water resistance and finished. Very happy with this exam and finished with a little under two hours to spare so the time is generous even allowing for a delay in using a cleaning machine (not an issue with 3 people in the room), nerves etc. Again, it turns out that some faults were common (the Inca spring which is obvious) but everyone had different faults for the rest. ------------------- As an overall summary of my experience, I found that the organizers and invigilators were very good and certainly didn't apply so much pressure that you felt it would be impossible to succeed. A few small gripes about the conditions and supplied equipment but certainly with the long times allowed, the BHI put nothing in the way of you succeeding if you are well prepared. I definitely put more obstacles in my own way than they did but, in the end I'm not unhappy. For anyone contemplating this course, it seems definitely worth buying the first year notes which have been completely re-written and brought up to date. They seem very clear and are far better than the 2nd/3rd year notes (re-write is in progress) that I bought. I think a lot is there but you do need to read around the subject to be sure you have the knowledge for the theory exams (in particular) but the first year seems comprehensive. It's a trying experience as you're putting yourself in front of your peers to have your knowledge and work reviewed so, I can see why a lot of watchmakers refuse to do this and looking at the watchmaker sites in Europe, my impression is that under a third put themselves through a formal course. I'm sure these tests are even harder if you are sitting something to obtain a spares account with the big manufacturers as your livelihood is directly dependent on the outcome. There is certainly a lot of pressure involved with either. For me, I think the best part so far of this course has been the assessor feedback, which I wrote about previously, as that is based on work you do in your own shop - that can also make you a little nervous but I was very happy with the comments I got. I found the exams/tests challenging but not impossible. The pass rate for each exam is not that high I believe (I'd estimate from talking around with people doing re-sits and with previous experience that it's 30-50% although I've not seen these figures written down anywhere) but it's not clear if this is down to lack of preparation or nerves. As I said, I don't believe anyone can blame the conditions at Upton Hall. As a side note, I'm sure I read somewhere that the American CW21 exams have an even lower pass rate but, I've only met one person who has done both BHI and CW21 so am not sure how exactly they compare. My impression is that the CW21 has less allowed time. Anyway, moving forward, I'm going to have to change my plans for the course a little as I have some other very important things to do this summer that mean I will have less time than I'd like. More on that another day. Cheers, Chris
Congratulations @ChrisN and thanks for the reports, very interesting to follow along. Are bent wheels that common in real life? How does it even happen?
I suppose only through mishandling. I think the purpose here is to be sure you review everything. You do see damaged teeth but also corrosion and pivot wear regularly so, they'd be hard to introduce I suppose in a test watch. The slight warp they put on one wheel was actually not easy to spot at first glance so easy to miss. I got the feeling afterwards that this may have been true for someone else. You're penalised for using extra parts so, you don't want to go and ask for a complete set of train wheels. On the quartz, I could have adjusted the bent stop lever but decided it was prudent to take a replacement - not sure if that will go against me. I know some used two stems and am sure that'll be a mark down. They don't give individual feedback at the end, I think it's just pass or fail so, you get that feedback from your submission to your assessor. Cheers, Chris
Well, exam results for 2017 are now in... At the BHI, they give "Fail" or "Pass" or "Pass with merit". To get a pass with merit, you need 75% or more. All my results were above 70% and, I finished with: Pass in Unit D1: Theory of Clock and Watch Servicing Pass in Unit D4: Servicing and Correcting Faults in a Quartz Watch Pass with merit in Unit D6: Drawing Clock/Watch Escapements Pass with merit in Unit D15: Servicing and Correcting Faults in a Manual Winding Watch Movement And, they are giving me the "Arthur Tremayne Memorial Prize" for the last of those as the best service standard. Really pleased with that award as it is the last unit and representative of what I now do each day. You can discuss with other watchmakers how things are done (already thanked Al on here) and do your best for your course work assessments (assessor already thanked as well) but nice to have it qualified by the examiners as well. I sat four units in the end. Due to outside pressure, I didn't go for the six I planned, mainly due to not being able to finish in aircraft engineering until after the exam period (now finished and only watchmaking these days) added to trying to find a house in UK (don't ask...). It's been a hard flog to get here and difficult to do while you are still working in another industry. I was in a pretty poor state during most of the exams as got myself very nervous and swore I'd never go through anything like this again. On the other hand as it has worked out, I don't have any regrets and would recommend that other people do this if they want to see what sort of work they're doing . Cheers, Chris
Great news Chris, a post on the internet can hardly convey the amount of respect and admiration that you have earned in my eyes. Therefore I will simply quote one of the highest Aussie congratulatory phrases uttered by any bloke who is really impressed by his mates success. "Ah yeah, not bad I 'spose".
Congrats Chris! What a great achievement. I am thinking about doing watchmaking course as well when my kids are a bit older and I'll have more time to my disposal
Many thanks Guys. I'd sort of put it out of my mind as it was tough to be taking exams after so long. The same in the courses where I'm used to being the one at the front talking and not the one at a bench panicking. The UK guys got their results last Friday and have been chatting with different people there but desperately wanted my results so I could join in... Generally, they had good news and some people did really well so, congratulations to all of them. @JimInOz Cheers, Chris
Well done. All the hard work paid off, but what really shines through your thread is the obvious passion you have for the work and that is worth more than any qualification. Good luck with the rest of your course.
Many thanks again guys. I would say to anyone thinking of doing this that there is a good support network of watchmakers throughout the world. Mine you, none of them exactly see eye to eye and any could start a war about oils in an empty room (me included). So, I'm more or less through years 1 and 2 and have year 3 left. Year 3 is mainly high complications (chronographs, for example) and small calibres (ladies watches). Oh, how I enjoy working on a 18 mm Omega 684 - basically a 2/3 scale 565 but running at 21600 A/h.... I'm enjoying my new life as a watchmaker. It doesn't have the same sort of pressure as aircraft engineering but nearly all my customers so far have been a pleasure to deal with - not always true in aerospace and I'm sure not always true in watches either. There is a different pressure but it's manageable. Additionally, there is all the effort in setting up a business and a website as well as the actual work but, it's coming along nicely and I am far more relaxed in general. Overall, it's been a good move. Cheers, Chris
It's been a month and so, a bit of an update on some non technical aspects of watchmaking for anyone thinking of doing this. No-one really tells you all of this and you just have to feel your way through it so, I'll share my experience. SET UP COST: I think for anyone starting out, this is the first thing you need to bear in mind. I am already between €40k and €50k split approximately: 45% in tool, equipment and work shop. 25% in spares. 15% in courses, books etc. 15% in everything else (consumables, postage and all the little things). So, it's not a small investment and if we remove the spares cost as (in theory), you'll get all of that back one day, it works out at about €35k to set up the shop, attend courses/exams plus all those small costs that just build up while you're not watching. Some people talk about setting up a workshop for €10k (impossible in my opinion) but others say €50k (or much more for a multi person business/one for a Swatch account) so, I'm somewhere in the middle and I am well equipped to be able to do most things that I offer. I don't offer case lapping for example. I could easily spend a further 50% on top of what I have spent for things I'll use a few times a year or just because "I'd like to have them...". I suppose if you're doing this on your own full time and amortizing over some years, let's say 2000 watches, then you add about €20 to every service. As I don't want to do that many in a short time and am wary of putting myself back into a high pressure job, it would be higher for me. The good news for me is that as I bought all of this while working in aircraft engineering, it's already paid for. This is a major point to bear in mind though for anyone interested in becoming a watchmaker. It's not just becoming proficient in the work as somehow you need to fund everything. A good 4 jar cleaner is about €5000 for example but, no-one will take you seriously with an old L&R Variomatic (have one of those as well) so, you need it. Easy to spend three times that as well if you're so inclined. SPARE PARTS: This is not an issue for me at the moment as parts are, typically, still available and I've invested in a reasonable number of parts for some calibres but, it's common knowledge that Swatch are restricting parts unless you are Swatch approved. The problem with that is the upgrade to the workshop for a Swatch account doubles the set up costs. I can't see that I'd ever be able to amortize it so, doubt it will be an option. All you can really do is get stock of parts you consider are likely to be needed and buy the rest on the market as needed. I was lucky that I saw some of this coming. It's also not as bad as it seems though because some of the older calibres are not well supported anyway from the factory and some of the existing parts suppliers still have older stock. Has to be said though that the only way to guarantee supply is with that Swatch account as the open market will dry up unless Cousins are successful. They recently sent another mail about their progress and it's terribly slow. They do seem hopeful, however. Bit more later about other things to bear in mind....
I remember being young.. or do I? Continuing thoughts for anyone looking to get into watchmaking… WEBSITE: I'm not sure you ever finish this if you're like me but mine is started and am building content on there. I, probably foolishly, decided to do this myself and it took me some time just to work out and organise the hosting... The design side is not such an issue but another new piece of software to learn. For me, it is really somewhere to point people who want to see the sort of work I do, rather than to pick up passing trade and feedback has been very good so far. My “marketing consultant”, also known as my brother-in-law who has vast experience in building businesses, has ideas to attract people using Twitter/Facebook/Instagram/Blogs but I’m not sure I need to go this way and it all takes time. You do see some very poor websites as well - not the design or content but you see a lot of these internet watchmaker sites with very bad processes, dirty benches, partially stripped movements before cleaning and a lot of other things that make you shudder. I know a lot of people don't know what they're looking at but some of the avid collectors seem to be more discerning. It all takes time to add the content having taken pictures but most of mine is just my service documents and, after a slow start, I can add those quickly now. GETTING WORK: I thought it would take an age to get off the ground but, was completely mistaken. When people talk about a lack of watchmakers, it's true! My business plan considered that in year 1, I'd build to a level that gave me 10 hours work per week and by the end of year 2, I'd be at 20 hours per week. Year 3 would be building to 40 hours per week but, I don't want to do it at more than 20 hours so, would limit myself. Well, I stopped aircraft engineering on 30th June and under three months later, I'm already where I expected to be after the first year and have a waiting list - not long, just four to six weeks but, naively I didn't expect it to start in such a fashion. I only take on work that I'm happy to do so have turned some away but, there are a lot of watch owners out there and especially in the vintage market. The other point to bear in mind is that virtually everyone (and I really do mean virtually everyone) that I meet has a watch with sentimental value that either hasn't worked for years or starts but stops. These are not watch people and some of them are just inexpensive quartz (often easiest to fit a new movement as it's far cheaper than my time) but others have very expensive watches that they have no idea how to get repaired. I suppose the days of a watchmaker on every high street are long gone. There is probably a huge market here if you have a lot of contacts outside of watch forums/people. RUNNING A SMALL BUSINESS: This is not as trivial as it sounds if you're not used to it. I'm used to dealing with an accountant but there's a lot to managing invoices, stock of parts, answering questions and sorting out packaging, postage and so on. I'm enlisting the help of my wife with a lot of this as otherwise it takes too much time away from the bench. It’s not all fully sorted out yet but, it’s close. There's also the tricky aspect of pricing as many people seem to think that €50-€100 is a good price for servicing a mechanical watch, although I can't be far out with mine as my take up after price discussions is about 80%. Still, after spending time in discussions with a possible customer who then go off to the cheapest option can be a bit disheartening but, it's a free market. And another thing is dealing with Customs... Receiving a watch with a declared value of thousands is not an issue in the EU but from outside, you must have a system with the correct wording. Even then, Spanish customs are a law unto themselves! I'm hoping this will become easier when I get back to UK later this year but, I know they can be difficult as well. -------------------------------------- So, just an update really to show some things that tend to get lost in the business of becoming a watchmaker. I would say that it comes over as a lot of work outside of the actual watchmaking but, I think once you’re on top of it, it wouldn’t absorb a lot of time on a weekly basis. There have been some weeks when all I seem to have done is the administration but, that’s eased right off now. Will need to go through some of it again when I move back to UK later this year but, hopefully, that will be the last time. Cheers, Chris
Chris, thanks for sharing your thoughts and telling us how you start your business! Very intersting - as all this thread by the way!
] You do realize this thread hasn't been updated in 3 years. Chris has his own watchmaking business: https://cjnwatch.co.uk/wp/