Watch and Clock Repairers
Repair, clean, and adjust mechanisms of timing instruments, such as watches and clocks. Includes watchmakers, watch technicians, and mechanical timepiece repairers.
What it pays
Watch and Clock Repairers earn a median of $32.32/hr — about $67,000 a year. The lowest-paid 10% earn $16.46/hr; the top 10% earn $52.88/hr. (Annual figures are approximate: hourly × 2,080.)
Watch and Clock Repairers earn a median of $32.32/hr — about $67,000 a year. The lowest-paid 10% earn $16.46/hr; the top 10% earn $52.88/hr. (Annual figures are approximate: hourly × 2,080.)
What you'd actually do
- 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.
How you get there
Typical entry-level education: High school diploma. Overall preparation: medium preparation (Job Zone 3 of 5).
The feel of the work
The work is mostly indoors; much of the day is spent working solo; it rewards working independently; precision matters — small details carry weight. (Compared against the other 818 careers in the guide.)
Working for yourself
About 9.8% of watch and clock repairers are self-employed.
Who it tends to fit
This work tends to fit people who are hands-on and organized and detail-focused.
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Quick questions
- How much does a watch and clock repairer make?
- The median pay is $32.32 per hour — roughly $67,000 a year, with the real range running from about $16.46/hr (10th percentile) to $52.88/hr (90th percentile). Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- Do you need a degree to be a watch and clock repairer?
- The typical entry-level education is: High school diploma. Overall preparation level: medium preparation (Job Zone 3 of 5).
- What does a watch and clock repairer actually do all 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.
Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS. Tasks & interests: O*NET. Career pathways shown in the app are draft archetypes — verify before relying on them. Trailhead is a free career guide for students — honest numbers, no hype.
Trailhead is operated by FLEXVermont LLC. It is intended for high-school students age 13 and older, and the educators and families who support them, and is not directed to children under 13. Trailhead is provided for general informational and educational purposes only. It does not offer professional, financial, or career advice, and its wage figures and pathways are estimates that may not fit your situation — they should not be relied on as the sole basis for any decision.
Trailhead is operated by FLEXVermont LLC. It is intended for high-school students age 13 and older, and the educators and families who support them, and is not directed to children under 13. Trailhead is provided for general informational and educational purposes only. It does not offer professional, financial, or career advice, and its wage figures and pathways are estimates that may not fit your situation — they should not be relied on as the sole basis for any decision.