In Paris, a Kind of Watch Repair Cooperative

One memorable repair job, Mr. Lopez said, was an Ebel watch from the 1930s or 1940s that had been damaged and then sat in a drawer for years. They did an in-depth restoration that included remaking the dial, the seconds hand and the acrylic dome, which had to be filed and repolished to give it the same curvature as the original. Afterward, the watch worked perfectly, he said.

“We never say no to anything,” Mr. Lopez said. “We are often people’s last hope. Some watchmakers stay in their comfort zone and refuse certain repairs.”

Mr. Bonnal agreed. “When you’re starting out like we are, we have to accept everything. We sometimes get the leftovers,” he said. “There’s a little crazy side.”

But sometimes the trio just cannot help.

“There are watches for which there are no more spare parts, because the factory no longer exists and has not built up a stock of spare parts,” Mr. Lopez said. “The most common case is when brands hold back parts. This is the case for almost all the current Swiss brands for which an agreement must be obtained in order to have access to the parts catalog.”

Some repair businesses do have such access, he said, “but they have to pay to get it, and it’s very expensive. For us, it doesn’t work. So even though we don’t want to refuse repairs, sometimes we have no choice.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/20/fashion/watches-repair-shop-paris.html