clock and watchmaker
Clock and watchmakers make mechanical or electronic clocks and watches. They use precision hand tools or automated machinery to assemble the timing devices. Clock and watchmakers may also repair clocks or watches. They can work in workshops or in factories.
clock and watchmaker clock and watchmakers make mechanical or electronic clocks and watches. They use precision hand tools or automated machinery to assemble the timing devices. Clock and watchmakers may also repair clocks or watches. They can work in workshops or in factories. The role shows moderate AI exposure (0.50 on a 0-1 scale) — some tasks are being automated but the role adapts. The most in-demand skills for the role include time-display methods, watches and jewellery products, components of clocks, inspect clocks, repair clocks.
Pay in the UK
UK: median £40,062 a year for Precision instrument makers and repairers (ONS ASHE 2025, full-time)
UK jobs are grouped differently; this is the closest UK occupation group (ONS SOC 2020 5224). ONS rates this estimate acceptable: it rests on a small sample, so treat it as a rough guide. 2025 provisional figures; ONS revises them a year later. Source: ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (Open Government Licence)
Pay in India (occupation group)
Average monthly earnings of salaried employees in the occupation group “Craft and related trades workers” in India, from the Government of India's Periodic Labour Force Survey (January–December 2025). It covers everyone in this group, not only clock and watchmaker, and it is not US pay converted to rupees.
Source: MoSPI (Government of India), Periodic Labour Force Survey Annual Report 2025, Table 51 — average wage/salary earnings of regular wage/salaried employees, NCO-2015 division 7. Official India data gives one average per occupation group: there are no official India figures for single careers, experience levels or cities. Read the report
Top skills
Knowledge you'll build
- Customer and Personal Service
- Administration and Management
- Mechanical
- Administrative
- Engineering and Technology
- Production and Processing
- English Language
- Sales and Marketing
What you'd actually do
- Clean, rinse, and dry timepiece parts, using solutions and ultrasonic or mechanical watch-cleaning machines.
- Adjust timing regulators, using truing calipers, watch-rate recorders, and tweezers.
- Reassemble timepieces, replacing glass faces and batteries, before returning them to customers.
- Disassemble timepieces and inspect them for defective, worn, misaligned, or rusty parts, using loupes.
- Oil moving parts of timepieces.
- Estimate repair costs and timepiece values.
Tools & technology you'd use
Frequently asked questions
What does clock and watchmaker do?
Clock and watchmakers make mechanical or electronic clocks and watches. They use precision hand tools or automated machinery to assemble the timing devices. Clock and watchmakers may also repair clocks or watches. They can work in workshops or in factories.
What skills does clock and watchmaker need?
The most in-demand skills for this role include time-display methods, watches and jewellery products, components of clocks, inspect clocks, repair clocks, inspect quality of products. These are the skills O*NET identifies as most important for competent performance.
Will AI replace clock and watchmaker?
Our AI-durability model gives clock and watchmaker a score of 0.50 on a 0-1 scale (higher = more exposure). That places it at moderate AI exposure — some tasks are being automated but the role adapts. Learning to work with AI tools rather than against them is the path forward.