Installation, Maintenance & Repair
Watch and Clock Repairers
Also called: Antique Clock Repairer, Clock Repair Technician, Clock Repairer, Watch and Clock Repairer
US median pay
$67,230
per year, 2025
Job growth 2025–35
-0.3%
declining
Openings a year (US)
100
1,400 employed
Typical entry education
High school diploma or equivalent
Preparation 3/5 · Medium preparation
What this job is
Repair, clean, and adjust mechanisms of timing instruments, such as watches and clocks. Includes watchmakers, watch technicians, and mechanical timepiece repairers.
What they do day to day
- Clean, rinse, and dry timepiece parts, using solutions and ultrasonic or mechanical watch-cleaning machines.
- Adjust timing regulators, using truing calipers, watch-rate recorders, and tweezers.
- Reassemble timepieces, replacing glass faces and batteries, before returning them to customers.
- Disassemble timepieces and inspect them for defective, worn, misaligned, or rusty parts, using loupes.
- Oil moving parts of timepieces.
- Estimate repair costs and timepiece values.
- Repair or replace broken, damaged, or worn parts on timepieces, using lathes, drill presses, and hand tools.
- Test timepiece accuracy and performance, using meters and other electronic instruments.
- Perform regular adjustment and maintenance on timepieces, watch cases, and watch bands.
- Order supplies, including replacement parts, for timing instruments.
Skills and knowledge that matter most
Skills
- Repairing3.9/5
- Operations Monitoring3.1/5
- Troubleshooting3.0/5
- Quality Control Analysis3.0/5
- Judgment and Decision Making3.0/5
- Equipment Maintenance3.0/5
- Complex Problem Solving2.9/5
- Social Perceptiveness2.8/5
Knowledge
- Customer and Personal Service4.2/5
- Administration and Management3.7/5
- Mechanical3.6/5
- Administrative3.1/5
- Engineering and Technology3.0/5
- Production and Processing3.0/5
Importance rated by people working in the job (1 = not important, 5 = extremely important).
Education and preparation
Preparation level 3 of 5 — Medium preparation. Usually vocational training, an associate's degree or an apprenticeship.
Typical entry education (BLS): High school diploma or equivalent.
Highest education of people in this job:
- Post-secondary certificate46%
- High school diploma22%
- Associate's degree21%
Who this job suits
Mostly Realistic
Hands-on work with tools, machines, plants or animals
Conventional
Organising data, details and procedures
Based on the Holland (RIASEC) interest profile for this occupation.