a million-dollar watch, a hundred-year-old clock, a watch that foreign watchmakers cannot repair, he can repair
2024-10-06
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qianjiang evening news
there is a watch repair shop called "fang's" at no. 3 hefang street, hangzhou.
no. 3 hefang street. photo by xie chunhui/
the front of the store is very small, and beside the lighted workbench, 82-year-old fang jinzhang has his head buried in his head, looking at the disassembled watch with a magnifying glass on his right eye.
he has been running this nearly heirloom watch repair shop for 32 years.
if we count the time when "fang" started repairing clocks, this craft has been passed down for 102 years.
in the new issue of "shining craftsman", come and listen to the story about time in the watch shop.
a dismantled alarm clock
start your relationship with watches
fang jinzhang's father was a well-known watchmaker in hangzhou. he once opened the "far east watch" watch shop, which was later merged into the hangzhou hengdeli watch shop.
influenced by his father, the introverted fang jinzhang is particularly interested in repairing clocks and loves to think about machinery like clocks.
fang jinzhang wrote down the process of repairing his watch with his father. photo by xie chunhui/
when he first came into contact with clocks, he was in his teens and secretly dismantled an alarm clock on the repair bench while his father was out. "the parts were scattered all over the floor, and i couldn't put them back, so i wrapped the alarm clock parts in newspapers and stuffed them in a corner. it wasn't until the customer came to pick them up that the matter was exposed." fang jinzhang laughed as he spoke. his father scolded him, but from that day on, he decided to teach him how to repair clocks.
at the age of 19, before he graduated from hangzhou no. 2 middle school, he was already proficient in watch repair at that time.
fang jinzhang ponders over clocks. photo by xie chunhui/
after that, fang jinzhang set up a clock stall and entered an instrument factory. after retiring from the instrument factory in 1992, he opened his current watch repair shop.
it has been about 70 years since i came into contact with watches. even when he was working in an instrument factory, fang jinzhang was always thinking about repairing clocks.
a million-dollar watch, a century-old clock
he can fix it
"i can fix the clocks that others are unwilling to fix. i can also fix the clocks that others can't fix."fang jinzhang is very confident when it comes to repairing clocks.
as long as he takes off the back cover of any clock and takes a closer look at the internal structure, he can basically determine whether it can be repaired and whether it is worth repairing.
fang jinzhang opened a record book. photo by xie chunhui/
in the store, there was a stack of notebooks. each notebook contains name, contact information, watch brand, etc. this is a record of every watch fang jinzhang has repaired in the thirty years since he opened his shop.
the total number of repair records is estimated to be tens of thousands. the simplest repair record is to replace the battery or strap of the watch, the most complicated is the complete restoration of an antique german clock...
fang jinzhang enjoys the quiet investment in the process of repairing the watch, and even more enjoys the feeling of completing the challenge when the repair is successful.
fang jinzhang adjusts a medieval german clock. photo by xie chunhui/
fang jinzhang also likes to record the stories behind clocks.
he taught himself photoshop and photo processing.
every few days, i will post the stories i encountered while repairing my watch in my circle of friends. this record has been maintained for three or four years, and there are hundreds of stories about watches.
the top circle of friends recorded this story: a gentleman came to fang jinzhang to repair a swiss women's watch that was nearly a century old. the movement of the watch was only the size of a few red beans, and the minute hand was as small as a sesame seed.
the watch has stopped running for many years, and the glass and hands are missing. very difficult to repair.
fang jinzhang's operating desk. photo by xie chunhui/
the watch was left by the husband's grandmother. "i want to repair it. this watch is a wedding gift from my grandmother to my mother. it's just a thought." when he came to repair the watch, the gentleman said to fang jinzhang.
in fang jinzhang's eyes, whether it is a watch worth millions or a clock that has lasted a hundred years, it has special meaning to its owner.
repaired watch. photo by xie chunhui/
he once repaired a patek philippe watch that was remade from a medieval pocket watch. it was a coming-of-age gift from a mother to her daughter. the watch accidentally broke.foreign watchmakers can't repair it well, and they can't order spare parts.
in order to repair this watch,fang jinzhang used a lathe to make homemade accessories that were thinner than a hair.
the reason why watch shops insist on opening their doors
hiding two loves
in the past few years, fang jinzhang's hearing has declined and he needs to wear hearing aids to communicate normally with customers.
"this is an imported watch. you need to replace the battery. although the battery is small and a bit expensive, it can normally be used for two years." he will carefully explain the cause of the watch failure to every customer who comes to the store to repair the watch, and will also give solutions let customers choose.
fang jinzhang. photo by xie chunhui/
as he gets older, fang jinzhang’s watch shop’s business hours are adjusted to 3 pm to 7 pm every day.
his physical strength is not as good as before, but he still wants to persist for a few more years.
fang jinzhang insists on repairing clocks because he loves it."opening a shop can bring me into contact with many people, which can make me feel younger. i enjoy the process of repairing watches."
fang jinzhang communicating with guests. photo by xie chunhui/
in addition to love, fang jinzhang also mentioned another love that supported him in continuing to open a store.
fang jinzhang's granddaughter is studying abroad, and he wants to save some money for his granddaughter by repairing watches."she is out on her own and very economical, but her expenses are quite high." he loves his granddaughter very much. during the national day holiday, he even sent a red envelope to her, and the grandfather and grandson said "happy national day" to each other.
fang jinzhang. photo by xie chunhui/
a few days ago, an apprentice in his twenties came to the store. he was fang jinzhang's distant grandnephew.
the young man wanted to learn how to repair watches from him.
fang jinzhang was a little happy. he said that he might not have enough time to completely teach his skills to his grandnephew, but he would do his best to teach him: "i will try it for three months first. if he can persevere, it will be a good start for this craft." it’s not hard to get started, but it takes time to do well.”
trendy news reporter xie chunhui poster design fu siyan
editor in charge: he fangkun
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