Another watch he often wears just needed a half-dollar coin to properly seal it shut. The watch Lynch wears was waterlogged when he bought it, but he was able to fix it and get it running. Sometimes a watch just requires some creativity to run again. Often, Lynch receives watches from people who believe the timepieces are too old or beyond repair. One pocket watch came from an older woman, and after researching the name engraved on it, Lynch discovered that the man who owned the watch had died in a mining explosion.Īnother pocket watch revealed Masonic symbols and a photograph of a young boy and girl when it was opened. The oldest watches in his collection date to the 1800s.Įach watch links Lynch to small pieces of history. Lynch’s collection includes pocket and wristwatches, early LED watches, parts to use for repairs and repairing tools. ![]() Batteries in quartz watches can be replaced at many jewelry shops and other stores.Īs people rely more on digital timepieces, mechanical watches are becoming novelty items. Some jewelry and repair shops can fix wind-up watches, but they typically are shipped to another location for the work to be done. Relying solely on customers in one geographical area is inefficient, and it’s better for business to buy and sell across the country and internationally. “There’s a limited market in one given area,” he explained. His customers range from clients in California to businessmen living in China. These days, Lynch conducts most of his business online, typically buying watches through eBay or Craigslist, repairing them and then reselling them on the Internet. The watches and the tools used in the trade may come from an era when cellphones didn’t exist, but the ways of doing business have changed to keep up with the times. Watchmaking and repair, however, has become a “strange business juxtaposed between the old and the new,” Lynch said. Most old-timers in the trade have retired, and fewer people are entering the field. Well-seasoned in winding and repairing timepieces, Lynch belongs to a dwindling population. It takes common sense and keen observation skills. Repairing watches is like detective work, he said. He prefers tackling the challenges presented by mechanical watches and is especially attracted to the complexities, size, craftsmanship and, now, the rarity of mechanical pocket watches. Mechanical watches are driven by springs that must be wound periodically to measure time, while quartz watches are battery powered. ![]() ![]() Lynch works on both mechanical watches and the more modern quartz watches. In an age of smartphones, Fitbits and the Apple Watch, millions of people have stopped relying on traditional timepieces. He turned his passion into a profession through mentoring from older, now retired watchmakers in Pittsburgh. The basement is Kieran Lynch’s workshop in O’Hara, Pa., where he spends hours each day examining and repairing watches.įascinated by their mechanics, Lynch, 51, has collected timepieces since he was a boy. Surrounded by family photos, vintage jewelry and drawings by young children in a basement is a vast collection of watches.
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