Becoming a Watchmaker
A what?
You mean, that guy who sits at a bench all day and never talks to anyone? He makes watches? Does anyone use watches anymore?!
This was the reaction from my friends and family members as I left my four year education, two years into my major. I dropped out of Michigan State University while I was a thriving student, taking more than 16 credits a semester and pulling off a 3.8 GPA. I walked away in the middle of it all, even with the financial resources to back my completion of a degree. Yes, I’m crazy.
Opportunity isn’t alway convenient. You must realize however, that it’s essential to know when you get your chance. Do anything to make sure you don’t miss it.
I loved watches. Truthfully, I also loved what I was studying as a French language and literature major, but this was my justification: the university would always be here, but my opportunities in the watchmaking world would not.
There will be many articles to come about what makes watchmaking worth such a sacrifice, but now I have your attention, and you need to know who this crazy author is. Don’t be afraid to make a life change to get what you want.
So what did I want?
My first watch was a Timex from my mother, given as a back to school gift while I was in second grade. She wanted me to learn how to tell time “the real way,” no digital watches for me, only analog. I had to learn to tell time with hands, which I was excited about only because the second hand on my Timex was a lightning bolt, that was cool. Now, I can’t imagine a digital watch on my wrist.
In middle school I started studying French, which in and of itself, became my second field of study and a passion of its own. I chose French because I knew that’s the language of choice in Switzerland, and where do watches come from? This was a long time in the making.
Nearing the end of high school, I knew what I was going to do, and that perhaps is the greatest gift I could have ever received as I reflect this Christmas. I knew that I would surround myself with the watches I so cherished, but beyond, I would understand them on such a personal level that I could fix them and keep them going for others. To understand why that means so much to me is to understand the connection most collectors have with their watches and their sentimental value. Ironically, Michigan State University wrote an article about me and these values a year or so after I left, highlighting my accomplishments as a successful student and budding watchmaker who no longer attended the university in pursuit of my dream: http://www.languages.celta.msu.edu/stories/2018/11/28/the-sentimental-value-of-language-and-watches
In short, watches are personal. They’re the most social jewelry I can think of, given as a gift to mark an achievement or celebration, but more importantly they keep track of our most precious resource: time.
No, I’m not a watchmaker who just sits at a bench making watches. The reality is that I am very social (I was a language major let’s remember), and my drive to become a watchmaker is a greater pursuit to connect with people and what achievement means to them. That’s what I feel when I see a watch.
I applied at the end of high school to numerous watchmaking schools in the United States, but since it’s a “dying profession,” there are really only a handful. I was interviewed by one but wasn’t accepted, and the others I never heard from. I wasn’t giving up, but until then, I continuted forward with my French major. That’s when my opportunity found me, in my PR class at Michigan State. The class failed an exam (myself included), and feeling sorry for us, the professor offered some extra credit: update your LinkedIn profiles.
This led to a job offer in Detroit with Shinola, a goods manufacturer who also makes watches! This was my big break into the industry, and that’s why I left the university. I worked at Shinola nearly two years, learning a great deal about manufacturing and working alongside their watchmaker who was kind enough to take me under his wing. Meanwhile, I was still applying to watchmaking schools, and I hadn’t lost vision of my dream.
During my summer 2019 vacation to France (see the crossover of passions here?), I got the call in Paris. The Lititz Watch Technicum welcomed me into their program, I was one of 11 students after their review of several hundred applicants, nearly a year long process. The program is the Harvard of watchmaking education, sponsored by Rolex. Learn more about my watchmaking school here: https://www.rolex.org/science/an-education-in-precision
I was honored. I was shocked. I had taken such risk, and all while working in part indirectly towards my goal, I had been able to build the ideal toolbox to succeed in my dream career. Shinola encouraged me, and they also celebrated by publishing an inspiring article and gifting me a watch that I wear to this day: https://www.shinola.com/thejournal/shinola-watch-technician-destined-greatness
I’m currently three months into watchmaking school, and I couldn’t be happier to be following my dream. That’s what I got for Chrismas and I’m truly so thankful. I hope to express this passion, show my gratitude, and inspire others to appreciate their true drive and to never doubt doing what it takes to become truly happy. I have acheived at the age of 21 my dream, but it doesn’t stop here. I have a lifetime of contributions that I simply could not be happier to make.
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