How to become a Watch and Clock Repairer

Official title: Watch and Clock Repairers

Also called: Antique Clock Repairer, Clock Repair Technician, Clock Repairer, Watch and Clock Repairer, Watch Estimator, Watch Repair Person, Watch Repair Technician, Watch Repairer, Watch Technician (Watch Tech)

Repair, clean, and adjust mechanisms of timing instruments, such as watches and clocks. Includes watchmakers, watch technicians, and mechanical timepiece repairers.

Main tasks

• 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.

How to become one

Typical education to start: High school diploma or equivalent

Ways in

• Apprenticeship: Watch Repairer.

Pay · Outlook · AI and this job

• Median pay: $67,230 a year The middle half earn $47,650 to $91,490.
• About 1,400 people work in this job now, and about 1,400 are projected by 2035. (-0.3%)
• People use generative AI for relatively little of this work so far. Microsoft Research rates its AI applicability as low.

Related jobs

• Camera and Photographic Equipment Repairers
• Medical Equipment Repairers
• Musical Instrument Repairers and Tuners

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Questions people ask

How do I become a Watch and Clock Repairer?

Ways in include: Watch Repairer.

How much does a Watch and Clock Repairer earn in the US?

Median full-time pay is $67,230 a year (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). The middle half earn $47,650 to $91,490.

Is a Watch and Clock Repairer a growing career in the US?

Employment is projected to stay about the same by 2035: about 1,400 people now and 1,400 later (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Do you need a degree to become a Watch and Clock Repairer?

Not always. 28% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher. Ways in include: Watch Repairer.

Will AI change the work of a Watch and Clock Repairer?

People use generative AI for relatively little of this work so far. Microsoft Research rates its AI applicability as low.

Sources

• Microsoft Research: Working with AI: AI applicability by occupation (2025-12-22 (built on O*NET 29.0)), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Employment Projections (2025-35 (released 2026-08-27)), Public domain (BLS), retrieved 2026-10-03
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025), Public domain (BLS), retrieved 2026-10-03

Updated 2026-10-03

This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.