Does vintage pay?

During my last quarter of watchmaking school, I shared with a visiting technical advisor from a huge manufacturer that my main interest is vintage repairs. He said, “Don’t work on that old stuff. There’s just no money in it.” That’s an interesting bit of advice from a company that is systematically deprecating parts accounts for independent repair shops in favor of selling new watches (which you also can’t get unless you really, really try).

When I started at my most recent watchmaking employer, they had a similar philosophy about watch repair in general, and especially about vintage repairs. The watch repair department was a service, and not a source of revenue. The idea was to get a customer to enter the store at least twice for a watch repair or battery change, in the hopes that the person would buy some jewelry while they’re in the store. But what they soon began to realize is they were charging too little for the full service. And for some reason, vintage repairs cost even less than modern repairs. The prices hadn’t changed in a decade (and apparently their wages hadn’t either).

The revival of interest in mechanical timepieces, along with the fetishization of handcrafted goods, and an extremely limited workforce, has changed the economical landscape without many insiders adjusting their business models appropriately. This company, who mainly resides in malls and struggles to maintain a luxury image, was trying to keep that feel-good local jeweler atmosphere. As a new hire I had no problem with that, I was just happy to have the opportunity to work on vintage watches at volume! I was getting work from dozens of stores and able to put out good numbers with a low comeback rate.

Once my mentor retired I was the only watchmaker handling vintage repairs with regularity. Management noticed the work took longer and took focus from modern repairs and threatened the whole program. I offered a solution: Instead of scrapping vintage repairs, let’s price them accordingly- 30% to 50% more than a modern overhaul. Did the work drop off? No. I had to reject more work than ever.

Even though my COGS was lower than any other watchmaker (the workshop had a huge boneyard and a trove of genuine new-old-stock parts), the perspective from above never changed. If I needed a minute to think over a problem or step away from a finicky hairspring, I might hear something like “We can hold off on the vintage stuff if you’re pulling your hair out over it,” from the shop manager. I have always kept a detailed log of every job including parts replaced, cost, and retail charge, and I would often reference this if I felt my workload needed defending.

There were limits to the earning potential, however, stemming from a lack of investment. Boneyard and stock parts were preferred, parts ordered from a local supplier were ok, and anything from eBay was strictly forbidden regardless of the margins. No jacquot tool, no real lathe, no torch and no materials for fabrication. Not that I blame them. They need workers, their compensation package is not competitive (this was made clear in the initial interview), and they knew I wanted to stay local. Offering me the vintage program was the perfect way to get a warm body in the shop, and it worked.

So, back to my original point, the man from the big brand was right and also wrong. In the United States, working for a jeweler and focusing on vintage repairs, you won’t make much money. Not many managers understand the work, and will think you are a very strange subcategory of very strange people.

You can, however, make a fine living in one of two scenarios. 1) You open your own shop, build a good reputation, and source work from all over the country with a strong online presence, or 2) Move to Europe, and work in a specialized department of a major brand.

The good news is that I am an independent watchmaker with another full time career, and not dependent on vintage repairs to feed myself and my family. This affords me the opportunity to selectively take on work, be it repairs for customers or restoration for resale. While it’s not a lavish lifestyle, it’s one I wouldn’t give up for anything.