Once cast as a dying craft, watchmaking is enjoying a quiet resurgence

We may now tell the time with our phones, but the watchmaking profession appears to be enjoying revived interest among young people.

Watchmaking doesn’t feel like the most 21st century profession. The job requires unwavering patience and a delicate touch, with watchmakers taking months or even years to create a single timepiece. Meanwhile, most people tell the time by looking at their phones. But this seemingly bygone profession appears to be enjoying a resurgence of interest triggered, at least in part, by Gen-Z’s enthusiasm for all things analog — and a desire for work far away from computer screens. For decades, the industry has warned of a labor shortage as older watchmakers retire. Experts spoken to by CNN, however, report promising levels of interest in the profession, despite ongoing worries over the departure of baby boomers across different specialties. Online watch communities have helped foster a new generation of horology enthusiasts, as connoisseurs young and old share their collections, spotlight master watchmakers and advertise second-hand and vintage watches for sale on platforms like TikTok Shop. This burgeoning resale market has generated demand not only for watchmakers, but for the expert repairers needed to revive treasures of the past, said Johann Kunz-Fernandez, director of the Watchmakers of Switzerland Training and Educational Program (WOSTEP), in a phone call with CNN. Young people could be a “saving point” to help reinvigorate the watch industry, added Kunz-Fernandez, who was struck by the uptick in their attendance at this year’s Watchers and Wonders, a major watch fair held annually in Geneva, Switzerland. “What I saw and discussed with some watch producers … is that there are a lot of young people, very young people, which is interesting because it absolutely was not the case before,” he said of the event.