Watch and Clock Repairers: Career Profile
Repair, clean, and adjust mechanisms of timing instruments, such as watches and clocks. Includes watchmakers, watch technicians, and mechanical timepiece repairers.
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The Daily Work of Watch and Clock Repairers Perform?
The day-to-day responsibilities of watch and clock repairers span:
- 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.
What Watch and Clock Repairers Need to Know
Top watch and clock repairers combine a mix of skills and domain knowledge.
Key Skills
The abilities most central to this role, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:
Top Knowledge Areas
Other Watch and Clock Repairers Job Titles
This career also goes by job titles like:
- Antique Clock Repairer
- Antique Clocks Repairer
- Auto Clocks Repairer
- Caser
- Chronometer Repairer
- Clock Mechanic
- Clock Repair Technician
- Clock Repairer
Job Outlook
There are roughly 386,566 watch and clock repairers working in the United States today. This occupation is expected to grow by +13.6% over the projection horizon.
Watch and Clock Repairers Pay
| Statistic | Value |
|---|---|
| Annual median | $56,376 |
| Hourly median | $27.10 |
| 10th percentile | $36,240 |
| 25th percentile | $46,308 |
| 75th percentile | $66,444 |
| 90th percentile | $76,511 |
Wages vary widely based on experience, location, and industry.
Pay by State
| State | Annual median salary |
|---|---|
| Texas | $84,740 |
| Colorado | $81,680 |
| New York | $77,020 |
| Mississippi | $70,220 |
| Florida | $63,970 |
| Massachusetts | $61,520 |
| Pennsylvania | $58,320 |
| California | $54,490 |
| Illinois | $52,400 |
| Maryland | $51,110 |
| Virginia | $41,990 |
| Georgia | $36,260 |
Top-Paying U.S. Regions
Compensation for watch and clock repairers vary by region. These regions lead on median pay:
| Region | Median annual wage | Share of U.S. jobs | Location quotient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest | $84,740 | 28.9% | 1.08 |
| Rocky Mountains | $81,680 | 8.9% | 1.63 |
| Middle Atlantic | $55,546 | 28.9% | 1.81 |
| Great Lakes | $52,400 | 17.8% | 1.52 |
| Southeast | $50,814 | 15.6% | 1.89 |
Top Metro Areas
| Metro area | State | Median annual wage | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | NY | $64,210 | 120 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN | IL | $62,840 | 70 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL | FL | $61,450 | |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | PA | $58,330 | |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | DC | $41,990 |
Which Industries Hire Watch and Clock Repairers
Most watch and clock repairers are found across these industries:
| Industry | Employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Retail Trade | 750 | $63,340 |
| Other Services (except Public Administration) | 190 | $49,720 |
| Manufacturing | 90 | $45,070 |
Below are examples of industries where watch and clock repairers work:
Tech Stack
- Accounting software: Intuit QuickBooks (hot technology)
- Spreadsheet software: Microsoft Excel (hot technology)
- Office suite software: Microsoft Office software (hot technology)
- Word processing software: Microsoft Word (hot technology)
- Enterprise resource planning ERP software: SAP software (hot technology)
What the Workplace Is Like
The work environment for watch and clock repairers tends to involve the following characteristics:
- Spend Time Using Your Hands to Handle, Control, or Feel Objects, Tools, or Controls
- Indoors, Environmentally Controlled
- Importance of Being Exact or Accurate
- Spend Time Sitting
- Determine Tasks, Priorities and Goals
Getting Started in This Career
Typical watch and clock repairers positions require some college, no degree as the typical entry-level education. This occupation sits in Medium Preparation Needed (Job Zone 3), reflecting the level of preparation typically expected.
Similar Occupations
Similar Occupations
- Electric Motor, Power Tool, and Related Repairers (Primary-Short)
- Industrial Machinery Mechanics (Supplemental)
- Maintenance Workers, Machinery (Supplemental)
- Camera and Photographic Equipment Repairers (Primary-Long)
- Musical Instrument Repairers and Tuners (Primary-Long)
- Coin, Vending, and Amusement Machine Servicers and Repairers (Primary-Short)
- Coil Winders, Tapers, and Finishers (Supplemental)
- Electromechanical Equipment Assemblers (Supplemental)
Top Programs to Study For This Career
Future watch and clock repairers typically earn programs in:
Mechanic and Repair Technologies/Technicians
1 programs across 1 majors
About the Data
This profile draws on the following authoritative sources:
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) for employment and wage data by state and industry.
- BLS Employment Projections for total employment and growth forecasts.
- O*NET (Occupational Information Network) for skills, knowledge, tasks, work activities, work context, technology, and education-zone data.
SOC code: 49-9064.00 (Watch and Clock Repairers).
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