Master class for young hands
Nestled among old warehouses in the industrial neighbourhood of Lai Chi Kok is a small school dedicated to one of Switzerland's oldest traditions.
Here a group of young Chinese students spend eight-hour days learning a craft that dates back hundreds of years, with the hope that they will one day spread this knowledge to the generations that follow.
It's with this in mind that the Hong Kong Institute of Swiss Watchmaking (HKIOSW), the first of its kind in Asia, was founded in 2009.
'In Switzerland everyone understands watches and the craft behind making them, but in Hong Kong there is no awareness, appreciation or understanding of this. We want to change that,' says Francois Bauder, director of HKIOSW and regional customer services director of luxury conglomerate Richemont Asia Pacific, which funds the school.
'By opening HKIOSW we want to keep supplying and finding very good watchmakers, and give a chance to Hong Kong citizens to be able to learn this skill.
'In the long term we have to help and serve the watchmaking trade.' According to the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry, Hong Kong absorbed US$7.4 billion-worth of Swiss watch imports last year, making it the largest consumer of Swiss watches in the world.
This figure is expected to rise, and along with it, a demand for experienced technicians to service these timepieces.
'Naturally, opening this school was strategic - we have one [school] already in North America but China is a big market for us,' says Bauder. 'That being said, this is not a school where you will learn how to make a watch. By definition luxury watches are Swiss made, so the activity here is mainly the maintenance of products that are Swiss made.
'However, what people don't know is that you need the same skill set to repair a watch as you do to assemble it.'
With its clean, white walls, wooden benches and intimate classrooms, HKIOSW resembles a physics laboratory more than a watchmaking school. Located in a towering office building, it has three classrooms - two dedicated to teaching undergraduates and another for internal training for Richemont employees. On any given day you'll see students bent over a box of parts, each studying the components carefully under a microscope.
The curriculum, which is designed by non-profit foundation The Watchmakers of Switzerland Training and Educational Program (WOSTEP), provides a foundation from which students can eventually become highly skilled watchmakers. The two-year course covers all aspects of watchmaking, from micromechanics to repair, making it more practical. For the final exam, students need to service three watches, including a mechanical and quartz timepiece.
'The programme consists of 3,000 hours of work with 1,000 hours devoted solely to micromechanics, which includes working with lasers and machines as well as hand skills such as spooling and using hand tools,' says Liang Jin-hong, one of the two trainers at the school and a former technician at IWC.
'After 1,000 hours the students can actually touch a watch. They learn how to check, repair and adjust it. There's a lot to learn as some watches can have up to 500 mechanical parts. The biggest challenge is sitting there for eight hours a day at a bench.
'You really need patience because often you will have to redo things over again.' Both Liang and fellow trainer Nicky Lu are experienced technicians but had to undergo five months of training with WOSTEP in Switzerland before they were qualified to teach students at the school.
In contrast, every student at HKIOSW will complete their training on the school's premises in Hong Kong, under the supervision of the two trainers and a principal. Assessors from WOSTEP are flown in during the final examination period. One graduate joined the school's inaugural programme with the hopes of eventually becoming a watchmaker.
'Choosing this course was convenient - it's located in Hong Kong and taught in Cantonese, so it's easier for me to communicate with my teachers,' says 'Ken', a 29-year-old technician from Vacheron Constantin.
'I previously worked as a technician where I did basic jobs. Now I have acquired a technical skill level where I can actually repair high quality watches. The next step is to learn how to build a watch and perhaps work in Switzerland.'
The course has been very enjoyable 'and hard at the same time', he says. 'Learning how to manipulate the movements was the trickiest yet the most rewarding.' While the majority of students already work for Richemont as technicians or have previous bench experience, there are no set entry requirements for applicants, although they must be Hong Kong residents. Richemont partially subsidises the cost for its employees, while the fee is set at HK$60,000 for two years, including tools and textbooks.
On average the school receives 60 applications a year, although there are only six places available. Applicants come from Hong Kong, and are mostly male although the most recent class has one female student.
'The interview process is quite detailed and includes technical tests as well as interviews to identify the students' potential and assess their personality,' Bauder says.
As the school embarks on its third academic year, Bauder reveals plans to open another outpost in the region. 'The school works in our interest because we need to teach people how to service the product we are selling. We don't want to train more and lose quality and technical level. That being said we also have aspirations to build a school in [mainland] China.'