The fading art of clock repair

Time has not been kind to horologists in Bengaluru who fix grandfather and cuckoo clocks

In the quiet bylanes on Kamaraj Road, between the many tiny stores with hand-painted signboards, you find shops that repair old clocks.

Shaikh’s Vintage Times

Lubbay Masjid Street

A wide variety of antique clocks — grandfather and cuckoo — line the walls of Shaikh’s Vintage Times. Occasionally, a cuckoo pops out to announce the time.

“My father was in the air force and was tired of being transferred. He wanted to set up a shop, so he sent me to his two brothers who were in the watch repair trade,” says Shaikh Mohammad, 54, who runs the shop.

The day Metrolife walked into the shop, Mohammad was working on a grandfather clock. “If I work continuously, I can repair it in three days,” he says. Customers pay him between Rs 3,000 and Rs 25,000 to repair a clock, depending on the work involved.

For him, fixing each clock is like solving a puzzle. He set up his present shop only three years ago, but he has been a horologist for 35 years, working at various other shops.

“The clocks hold sentimental value, and customers keep coming back,” he says. He is pleasantly surprised that the younger generation is interested in collecting antique clocks.

“They start off by buying clocks with a small budget. Antique clocks have a charm of their own,” he says.

Phone: [phone]

Regal Watch Co

Brigade Road

Regal Watch Company, located near Cauvery Handicrafts on Brigade Road, is run by Suresh Ramamurthy. He is the second-generation owner of the shop. His father Ramamurthy set up the shop in the British era. It services watches rather than clocks.

British officers from the nearby camp would shop for clocks for their friends and relatives before they returned home. It once had the honour of being the time-keeper to the Mysore Maharaja, and used to maintain the clocks at the Bangalore Palace.

“I used to go to the palace and wind up the clocks. I really started showing interest in the business after I finished 10th standard,” says Suresh.

Two technicians — Simon D’Souza and Abdul Mujeeb — have been helping Suresh keep the store and the clocks running for 30 years. It is a diminishing industry, he agrees, which is why he does not want his children to follow in his footsteps.

In its heyday, the shop used to see customers from across the world. Some used to even buy clocks from his shop to sell them abroad. With good reason. According to the US Bureau of Labour Statistics, watch and clock repairers in the US would have a mean annual wage of over Rs 33 lakh.

Phone: [phone]

Praveen Watch Co

Commercial Street

This shop has its beginnings in another shop, Everjoy, which no longer exists. “My grandfather established it in 1910. After he passed away, my father took over, and then I did. Everjoy only dealt with watches and not antique clocks, and since my uncles weren’t interested in running the shop, it shut down,” says Mohan Kumar. In 1982, he set up Praveen Watch Company on Commercial Street.

Antique clocks, he believes, will never die out. “They survive for generations, unlike the battery-operated ones in today’s market. I have repaired clocks that are 150 years old,” he says. The problem, however, is the lack of skilled, patient horologists.

“I am 70 years old. My son is an auditor; he is not going to take over the business after I am gone,” he says. However, he has been training a few young men in the hope that they will keep the legacy alive.

Phone: [phone]

Chamundeshwari Watch Works

Commerical Street

Chamundeshwari Watch Works in Shivajinagar may appear dull on the outside, but its insides are adorned with clocks that date back centuries. A Raja’s father, Anandan, used to work for the Indian Telephone Industries while moonlighting as a wristwatch repairer. He started the shop in 1967.

Raja picked up the trade by watching his father work. When his father passed away 35 years ago, Raja took over. Over the years, the shop grew from being a watch repair centre to one that sold and repaired antique timepieces. It has clocks from different parts of the world. Fine creations of pre-industrial clock-makers from all over Europe continue to tick in a narrow lane in Bengaluru. Raja gets customers from all over the city, besides visiting foreigners.

The oldest clock in the shop, he says, is from the 17th century. While he sells clocks, most of his earnings come from repairing. Typically, he takes a week to fix a clock, and charges between Rs 6,000 and Rs 7,000.

“I earn about Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000 a month. I own the building, so it works out. My sons are not interested in continuing the business,” he says.

Raja works only on mechanical clocks. “Only those who are passionate about clocks can be in this business. It doesn’t earn you a living,” he says.

Phone: [phone]