TZWS Class: Level 1E - Lesson 1 - Part 1
ON THE IDEA OF CRAFT AND WORKMANSHIP
In the modern world of every man's throw-away timepieces, it is difficult to remember that the earliest watches were expensive rarities that imparted great social power to their owners. To know the time put one in a position of dictating social structure and the behavior of those who did not have access to the information. Thus it was appropriate--for social reasons, as well as the best possible mechanical function--that craft-for-craft's-sake be lavished upon these early watches. Precious metals, gemstones, pearls, and the addition of other discrete crafts, such as enameling, added value, beauty, and prestige to the mechanical craft within. But good, honest craft has always required that the craft within be equal to or better than the craft exhibited on the outside. This means that both manufacturer and watchmaker much lavish attention on parts of the watch almost surely never seen by the average owner.
Craft and workmanship are not only issues in the manufacture of wristwatches, but in their service too. It is a fundamental assumption of the curriculum of the TimeZone Watch School that every adjustment or servicing of a finely-made wristwatch provides an opportunity to admire, respect, and preserve the craft with which the piece was manufactured--and, sometimes, even to improve upon it in appropriate ways. All too often, unknowledgeable or unskilled workers, or skilled professional watchmakers under the pressures of time and money, fail to pay this respect and leave behind unhappy reminders of their work. While each worker must decide on his own approach to craft and workmanship, the best possible approach must always be the reference point.
Because the TZWS offers a curriculum designed largely for those who would be amateur watchmakers, it is hoped that the spirit of fun, experimentation, and learning will be maintained throughout. Our early work, on inexpensive movements, is an opportunity to make the inevitable--absolutely necessary-- mistakes from which we learn. Mistakes, frustrations, and setbacks will be part of the experience and should, as nearly as possible, be expected and taken in the spirit of learning.
Watches--excluding complex pieces like repeaters, chronographs, and
perpetual calendars--are actually very simple mechanical devices. They are,
however, very tiny and much of our learning will be in the handling
and manipulation of very
In the illustration below , the author may be observed with a flashlight, magnetic pickup, and an expensive Swiss cigarette searching for very tiny parts (at the red arrows ) that he will never find. After an hour of futility, he left his horological enterprise for another day and had a Cognac instead.
Before leaving the matter of the Bermuda Triangle, I would offer a useful suggestion. Invest an hour and US$20.00 to build your own Triangle Sweeper. This may be constructed from a magnetic tool or knife rack attached to a wood broom handle. Remarkably, in supervised tests the TS retrieved seven of seven very tiny screws strewn randomly around the author's inadvisedly carpeted workshop. (During the test, it also sucked up a Boeing 737 and a fishing trawler, but that is a discussion beyond our purposes here.) The TS will not help with jewels, brass parts, or other non-ferrous materials, but it is, all in all, a big help to even the most skilled watchmaker. We need all the help we can get.
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Because
they are micro-mechanical devices, watches have always been demanding of
some craft and workmanship for purely functional reasons. Without a certain
attention to detail, a watch simply would not work. Beyond that pragmatic
requirement, there is a huge range of craft and workmanship devoted to
watches, both by their manufacturers and by those who service and regulate
them for the owner. 
In
the contemporary industrialized world, with more of a focus on productivity
and function than on craft, the average person sees little of great craft.
Certainly, highly specialized mechanisms for professional uses--medical
tools and instrumentation are one example--still exhibit craft of
manufacture. Among consumer products, however, the fine wristwatch stands
virtually alone. High-grade Swiss and German mechanical watches are among
the very few manufactured products today that exhibit craft of the caliber
seen routinely in previous centuries. If not available to the average
person, such watches are certainly available to a large number of somewhat
more privileged citizens of industrialized nations. 
ON
LEARNING AND HAVING FUN 
small
parts. Half the skill of watchmaking is about simply learning how to
hold very small parts while they are worked upon without damaging them or
losing them. While learning, everyone will do both. The other half is
probably about finding pieces once they have flown from your grasp. Every
watchmaker's bench exists within the Bermuda Triangle. There is simply
nothing to do about that but come to peace with it. Parts almost never
return from the Triangle. Time, practice, and patience provide dramatic
improvements in the ability to handle small parts with facility. When work
becomes too frustrating at some point, simply walk away from it and return
when fresh and in a more recreational mood. Watches never respond to
force. 
