I believe this is exactly the kind of high-paying job that is difficult for AI to replace.
Canada's only watchmaking school still ticking after 80 years
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Re: Canada's only watchmaking school still ticking after 80 years
#52Earlier quoted context omitted.
Maybe it was a touch lamp? (Like a clapper but works when you touch the body not through sound)
Not unless touch lamps are supposed to give you an electric shock :)
Re: Canada's only watchmaking school still ticking after 80 years
#53My grandfather was a master watchmaker and jeweler who learned his trade in the Soviet Union and then in Europe. After emigrating to Toronto after the war, he opened his own jewelry store, where he repaired watches and clocks, as well as crafted and repaired fine jewelry. He was a true master of his craft and built a successful business based on his exceptional skill. He Was well known for his craftsmanship and his r…
Is this still a viable career?
probably would make more $ from it if you were a YouTuber or TikTok creator and did "watchmaking" content.
Re: Canada's only watchmaking school still ticking after 80 years
#54Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm glad fountain pens came up here. There's a shop a few hours away from where I stay in an old town in India called the "Pen Hospital". It was a thriving business in the 60s when my father went to college. Lots of people came there mostly to repair fountain pens. He's mostly just a stationery store right now but if you take a fountain pen there for repair, he does it for free just as a nod to the tradition I guess.
My friend told me when he visited India that they repair everything over there: it's a beautiful thing IMO
Re: Canada's only watchmaking school still ticking after 80 years
#55Earlier quoted context omitted.
I mean people do make a living doing it, but my understanding is that it requires a lot of hustle—as a hobbyist you can just take your time and meditate and take a million pictures, but if you're trying to make a living you have to focus on volume, volume, volume... So you have to have a system, this one goes in the cleaner and you are immediately disassembling the next, another is in a tray next to the machine that…
Can one end up working for TAG out of this for example? What does it take for that career ladder to happen?
Re: Canada's only watchmaking school still ticking after 80 years
#56I believe this is exactly the kind of high-paying job that is difficult for AI to replace.
But bespoke, handmade, high value, low volume stuff is still around.
Re: Canada's only watchmaking school still ticking after 80 years
#57Earlier quoted context omitted.
I am literally wearing a watch right now that was produced without any of these artisans’ specialized labor and which boasts among its features access to AI. In a very real sense I have replaced use of the skills of watchmakers with AI. Sorry about that. To be fair most watchmakers were already put out of work by quartz oscillators and integrated circuits in the 1980s.
The reason that you bought your watch and the reason that other people buy these hand crafted mechanical watches are very, very different. Once upon a time, utility used to be what necessitated an accurate movement, and it came at great cost because of the skill, knowledge, precision, and artistic talent needed to make one; this justified further embellishing the movement with a beautiful case and band because it wou…
Re: Canada's only watchmaking school still ticking after 80 years
#58The 8th highest voted HN submission is on mechanical watches. I imagine that's the type the watchmaking school involves themself with because afaik all high end watches are mechanical. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31261533 4 years ago 413 comments They have a certain beauty in their intricate details working together for function. I do really like looking at the glass back which shows some details and you can…
Re: Canada's only watchmaking school still ticking after 80 years
#59I believe this is exactly the kind of high-paying job that is difficult for AI to replace.
Re: Canada's only watchmaking school still ticking after 80 years
#60The 8th highest voted HN submission is on mechanical watches. I imagine that's the type the watchmaking school involves themself with because afaik all high end watches are mechanical. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31261533 4 years ago 413 comments They have a certain beauty in their intricate details working together for function. I do really like looking at the glass back which shows some details and you can…
No, most high end male jewelry are mechanical watches (and much of women-oriented jewelry as well).
High end watches are such a solved problem we don't even talk about them anymore. Either the G-shock, the Garmin watches, or the Apple Watch run circles around mechanical watches in terms of functionality with each satisfying a different niche (100% self-contained, long lived smart functionality, glance-oriented integration with full-stack personal tech ecosystem).