Both new and old watches show precious time

I interviewed Roma Slavinskas, who works at the Gargždai watch factory, about the work of a watchmaker more than a decade ago. A yellowed clipping of an article from “The Wave” on the wall between the old wall clocks in his workplace also reminds us of this. Now Romo’s wife Inga also repairs watches here.
Taught his wife
R. Slavinskas, who acquired theoretical knowledge about clocks at a vocational school in Vilnius in his youth, had to repair them first in Klaipėda, then in Gargždai, and he was not the only representative of this old craft here. It sometimes took a day or two to repair a mechanical watch. The skills came from daily work with experienced craftsmen. Now, watchmaking is no longer taught in vocational schools or colleges in Lithuania, and finding a master who would agree to teach would probably not be easy. Romo’s wife Inga, who worked as a florist, became his student ten years ago and now replaces her husband several days a week at the clockwork shop in Gargždai. When asked if it took a lot of patience to understand the watch mechanism and the intricacies of the craft, Inga laughed: “The most important thing was to control the stress so that my hands wouldn’t tremble. And they trembled when the customer brought the watch. It was difficult at first.”
“One millimeter screws are already big,” smiled Rom. In order to be able to change those screws in the watch with tweezers, you need not only steady hands, but also good eyesight, which, unfortunately, weakens when doing this work. Watchmakers cannot do without a magnifying glass that magnifies the image several times, good lighting is also necessary, and the main tools – tweezers, screwdrivers, pliers, a light hammer, a watch glass opener, a press – are always on the work table.
Trying to save money
Rom and Inga have to repair old mechanical watches less and less often. Since there are no new parts to buy, craftsmen buy old watches that are no longer needed and use their parts. People also sell old wall clocks that strike the hours, the details of which are also useful for watchmakers.
Most often, inexpensive watches are brought to be repaired, but there are also those that cost several hundred or a couple of thousand euros. Inga admitted that she is most afraid of expensive ones: “The most expensive was a ceramic watch that cost 1,500 euros, which needed to replace the element.” Watchmakers advise customers not to do it themselves, because if the lever is broken, the watch is damaged, and the repair will cost a lot. They remembered a customer who unsuccessfully tried to replace an element in a watch that cost 600 euros. “They wanted to save, but was it worth it?” Broke the mechanism and the glass, and paid 68 euros for the repair. Another person brought a watch stained with engine oil. The special gram that we use costs 18 euros,” said the watchmaker Romas, mentioning the failures of thrifty customers and warning to use the oil intended for food also according to its intended purpose, and not for watches.
Changing the cell for a watch has been the most popular service for some time, but the battery in smartphones is not replaceable, so such watches have to be thrown away.
They also found cockroaches
When Romas was still working in Klaipėda, he did not notice seasonality in his work, but now in Gargždai it is different. “When the field work starts, the number of customers increases. I can tell by the clock what kind of work he did, what fertilizer he used, what he watered,” joked the experienced craftsman. Watches are affected by chemicals, water, they are contaminated with various impurities, heating in the sauna is harmful.
Sometimes the clocks stop because of the living things inside them. “It happens that some tiny spider gets into the clock, but I have shaken hornets out of the wall clock, and many years ago customers also brought cockroaches, which, when the clock case was opened, started running on the table,” Romas recalled the most unexpected finds.
There are no queues left
“30 years ago, there were queues around the clock, and now I’m waiting for someone to come. Previously, I used to have watches in my drawers for 2-3 weeks, mostly mechanical ones were brought,” Romas, a 40-year-old watchmaker, shared about the changes that have taken place. There are days when a couple of customers come, but there are also ten or twenty, sometimes one brings several watches.
The number of customers increases before the big holidays, when compatriots return to Lithuania not only to visit relatives, but also for cheaper medical services. Then they also bring back broken or simply stopped watches. After the holidays, more people bring the metal bracelets of the watches they received as gifts, and sometimes glasses, if a screw falls out.
Rom and Inga notice that most people buy inexpensive ones, and they consider those that cost over 200 euros to be better watches. “If you choose from 5 to 50 euros, there is no significant difference – all watches show the time,” the watchmakers smiled. The customers’ questions about whether they brought an original Rolex also make Roms smile, after all, if they didn’t pay at least 5 thousand. euros, the answer is clear.
They want their customers to treasure their time and not forget to take back the repaired watches. “Some come and say that they have already forgotten what the clock looked like…” Inga and Romas smiled.

Laima ŠVEISTRYTĖ