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Introducing Myself. Hi All.

Hughesy

By Hughesy
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Hughesy New Member

Hughesy

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Hello Everybody. My name is Michael, I'm in my early 20's and have been lucky enough to stumble upon something I wish to make a career of. Up until recently I genuinely had no clue this was even a hobby let alone a profession. Since I was small I had an affinity for my Grandfathers watches, he was gifted a luxury Swiss watch upon his Retirement from work. I fondly remember cradling it in my hands as a child petrified of dropping it or handling it for that matter.

I must have convinced myself as a child that a big old factory somewhere just churned these pieces out and never questioned that narrative until I purchased my first luxury watch. I was often confined to my house growing up as I cared for my mother during a rather turbulent period/battle with cancer. I had to get creative with ways to make money so I managed to get qualified as a nutritionist as well as a spot of Retail trading on the side. After having moderate success with my online clients and one lucky investment I decide to purchase a Rolex Submariner 16610 as some sort of acknowledgement of making it through tougher times. I won't pretend for second that the purchase was well researched or well negotiated, I was simply pleased with the look of it and having heard Rolex so many times and seen them in shop windows it become an object of desire for me.

That led me to a small watch repair shop maybe 15 minutes on a bike from my house. My watch was due its first service and as I took it in I could see two older gentlemen working in complete silence as a younger lady at the front desk greeted me. This led me to the discovery of watchmaking as a profession and a fruitful discussion on the jobs they carried out, how they were trained and for that I am grateful. Safe to say I I'm in embryonic stages of development so I won't be of much contribution unless documenting a raw novices journey could be of some use ?

I find myself in a strange but fortunate position of having a small passive income as I live with my dad and quite a lot of time to develop the basics of this craft. I am Reading some entry level books recommended to me which happen to echo the sentiments of Marks level 1 course (thank you very much for putting it together) which I am making my way through as I type this. 

What id like to ask to the more experienced members is where would be a sensible place to start ? I'm aware that ways into the industry are either apprenticeship or schooling ? unless there are other ways id be grateful to get any advice or guidance on these early stages and what could bolster my chances of gaining apprenticeship or entry to the school. 

Thanks in advance and sorry for the long winded intro. 

Michael.

 

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yankeedog Distinguished Member

yankeedog

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A well thought out introduction as well.Michael you seem to have presence of mind in advance of your years.I think you can do anything you chose to.Welcome...you will find professionals and amateurs such as myself here that deal honestly and respectfully with each other.

Henry

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Endeavor Distinguished Member

Endeavor

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Hello Michael !

Good to see that you got the "bug" at such an early age :)

Watch Mark's video's carefully, as there is a lot of information given and therefor a lot to learn. There is also good information on this forum, but as usual, use your common sense as you would on any forum.

I'm not sure where you are located, but reading your intro, English seems to be your native language. If you are in the UK, I found another young watch-maker who I found very inspiring, perhaps it is worth to read his story?

http://www.great-british-watch.co.uk/

Wishing you lots of suc6 !

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Hughesy New Member

Hughesy

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Thank you for the welcome guys. I am from the south east of England so that website recommendation will come in handy @Endeavor thank you. I've already had good conversations on social media with recent BSOW graduates, some young and some middle aged who uprooted their current lives to pursuit the passion. 

As of right now its wise that I take baby steps and soak up for basic knowledge and nomenclature which will allow me to navigate the posts on this forum without becoming too much of a pest asking for clarity. 

Marks course is helping a lot and I really appreciate the video formatting as it helps my retention to no end. Anyway il be off now for a butchers on the forum, hopefully I can locate answers to questions I have that have probably been answered x20 for newbies.

cheers !

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