How to Turn Watchmaking Techniques into Principles

“Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.”

—George S. Patton

Watchmaking is about creating problem solvers. Not solution memorizers. Here’s how I use an ecological approach to teaching watchmaking.

Learning watchmaking techniques are important. However, learning watchmaking principles is even more crucial.

The best watchmakers in the world remember principles. Not techniques.

Principles can be applied in multiple scenarios. Techniques can only be applied if all the parameters are met.

In school, it’s important to learn the fundamentals. You learn how to solve problems. When you get out of school though, you find out that the problem is never identical to the one you learned in school. It’s always presented in a different context.

I teach watchmaking step by step to beginners. At first this requires teaching them the techniques of how to do a specific task.

Once they get the hang of it, they’re required to apply the knowledge right away. They do this once or twice in a perfectly contained environment. After they get the hang of it, our goal is to make it practical.

It’s important to force the exposure to the same problems in different contexts.

SAME PROBLEM + DIFFERENT CONTEXT = NEW STIMULUS

This causes them to break free from a specific set of techniques and it forces them to realize that the technique themselves are flexible.

The individual must realize that they need to be flexible on the path to the same result.  

Repeated exposure to different contexts of the same problems will convert techniques into principles.  

The best people in the world follow principles and not specific step-by-step techniques.

HOW WATCHMAKING IS TAUGHT

The process needs to be simplified into smaller, more manageable chunks.

I focus more on developing specific skills and knowledge sets that are essential to the craft.

In a nutshell:

1.    DEFINE THE CONSTRAINTS

I start by defining the constraints of the learning process. I can’t teach the students everything all at once. By identifying one thing at a time, we can focus on laying each foundation as best as we can.

This means that I have to identify the constraints by reducing the field of vision.

What is the specific goal the student has to learn?

Do I want them to get better at assembling? disassembling? polishing? oiling? troubleshooting? etc.

Do I need them to work on speed and time to produce higher amounts of quantity / repetition?

Do I need them to work on quality over quantity?

Are they at a point where I can push them to do both quality AND quantity?

What tools or abilities do I want to limit their usage of to increase their attention in another area?

2.   IDENTIFY THE SKILL

For example, if our goal was to get better at polishing, we’ll need to identify the skill set to work on. Within polishing, we have specific areas such as lapping, lasering, high polish, satin finish, sand blasting, etc. We need to identify the skill that’ll help us accomplish the goal.

What area do I need them to work on that’ll yield the highest leverage?

What particular techniques do they need to work on within the area?

How can I limit their options so that they work only on the skills they need to learn?

3.   BREAK DOWN THE PROCESS

How can I build up the technique in a digestible way?

How can I slowly add more without complicating it for the student?

Is the information I’m providing necessary for the student to acquire the desired stimulus?

What is the best method for this student to learn this technique?

4.  TEST

How can I test their abilities to see if it was successful?

How can I introduce the same problem in different contexts?

How can I integrate this section of their experience to the bigger picture?

5.   REFINE THE PROCESS

Was it successful?

What needed more improvement?

Identify the problem areas that weren’t fixed or needs improvement

Rinse and repeat

We start off reducing the field of vision to isolate a specific goal and skill. As the student progresses, we start to open up the field of vision so that they can adjust and acclimate easier to more variety.

How I Applied Watchmaking To Get a 4.0 GPA, Win Competitions, & Run an Ultramarathon

How I Applied Watchmaking To Get a 4.0 GPA, Win Competitions, & Run an Ultramarathon

Let’s talk about the last year or so…

I’ll skip right to the chase. Classic no BS style.

 RECAP

Before I stepped away a year ago (February 2021), I was out to prove for my next upcoming book that the PRINCIPLES of watchmaking extends far beyond creating and repairing watches. I was out to prove that it could be applicable to everything we do in life.

I was trying to prove that these principles could be used in everyday life to simplify, breakdown, and learn anything.

It was a rather bold claim when I first put it out. As it should be. I essentially came out and said that I found a blueprint to excel in anything. If you guys know and learned anything from me, it would be to question EVERYTHING. Even if it’s coming from me.

THE CHALLENGE

During a Q&A / Ask Me Anything session prior to 2021, you guys challenged me to apply and prove my claims in 2 specific ways.

1. Mentally taxing setting - Classic Academia

2. Physical taxing setting – Martial Arts

Perfectly legitimate requests. To prove it to myself and most importantly- you guys, I re-enrolled into a traditional university AND signed back up with a martial art. 

1. I re-enrolled into a classic university while maintaining a full-time job.

2. I enrolled into a famous Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu academy in NYC

For those of you wondering, yes. I legitimately re-enrolled back into a university. Paid all of the tuition out of pocket (over $18,000USD) while maintaining my full-time job just to prove a point.

Stupid? Yes

Extreme? Yes.

Costly? Yes.

Point proven? Priceless.

As for the BJJ academy, I signed up to a $230USD monthly academy on top of all these obligations. So all in all for this experiment, we’re looking at about $20,000USD just to SEE if this was plausible. Nothing was guaranteed here.

SPECIFIC CRITERIA FOR SUCCESS

Here were the specific definition of success for each of the setting:

1. UNIVERSITY

1. Take up a random assortment of classes to ensure a wide range of knowledge

2. Must get B+ or higher / 3.5 GPA or higher

3. Must be enrolled for a couple semesters at least

2. BJJ ACADEMY

1. Must demonstrate fluency

2. Must compete in a competition

3. Must get recognition by teacher/professor

I’m here to say that I’ve accomplished that and much more.

THE RESULTS

UNIVERSITY:

I managed to attend courses at the beginning of 2020 all the way till now. See attached images below. I completed all of my courses with an A and achieved a 4.0 GPA and won not only the Dean’s list award but the President’s list award as well.

I just finished up 2 more courses from December to February (also with As). I have another 2 more courses to complete because I wanted to clear up any confusion should I have stopped shy of 2 years. Mind you, the original goal was simply a couple semesters. The classes were a mixture of general requirements, science, health, and language.

University Grades for 2020

University Grades for 2021

There’s more to the pictures but you get the point.

Was it tough? 100%.

I was able to snag a 4.0 GPA learning subjects that I have zero to no interest in simply by applying the principles of watchmaking. I’m literally confident that if you guys apply these same principles- you too can achieve results like this.

BJJ ACADEMY:

With the BJJ academy, I went from a random Purple belt who hadn’t trained in several years to a recognized competition Brown belt with several local tournaments and 2 bigger grappling events under my belt.

I was able to score a Silver Medal at an IBJJF Jiu Jitsu Championship International Open as well as a Gold Medal at another (I can’t include it since if I do, it would be relatively easy to track me down).

I would call that a success if you ask me but I’m sure someone will have something negative to say.

MARATHON & ULTRAMARATHON RUNNING

Did I mention there was a bonus? Not knowing whether I would succeed in the martial arts endeavor, I decided to take up an extra physically taxing activity just in case. A back up so to say.

I went the extra mile (no pun intended) to compete in marathons and ultramarathons within a span of a year. I had zero to no experience in running prior to February 2021 so if I can do it, so can you. I managed to apply the same principles to simplify and breakdown the necessary training time to get ready and succeed for these runs. I knew how many miles I needed to run each day and how many miles to progress to in order to achieve what I needed to do.

I went from doing a 21 mile run to a 26.2 mile run the very next day, to a 90 mile run within a week. From there I progressed to a 161 mile run a couple months later. This was only possible because of the systems I’ve had in place.

The 161 mile run is arguably one of the toughest things I had to do in my life.

THE TAKE AWAY

I wasn’t born talented or with special genetics. I sucked in school initially since I didn’t consciously know about the watchmaking principles until later on in life. I sucked in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu prior because I was disorganized without a clear set of thinking. I never ran more than a mile in my life let alone a marathon prior to 2021 because I had no idea how to break things down and work towards a simplified step-by-step process.

I did however progress through all of that using the principles of watchmaking that I have now organized. Would I call all of this a success? I think I will.

Some of you will have some negative things to say. I’m sure of it. To make it clear, I don’t think it’s not a matter of grit or pig headed determination. I felt positive and in control that each step I took was calculated because of how I went about simplifying and breaking everything down to key components. It’s akin to Will Smith’s story in some sense.

““You don’t try to build a wall. You don’t set out to build a wall. You don’t say ‘I’m going to build the biggest, baddest, greatest wall that’s ever been built.’ You don’t start there. You say ‘I’m gonna lay this brick as perfectly as a brick can be laid,’ and you do that every single day, and soon you have a wall.””

— -Will Smith

February 2021 was a tough time in my life. I had many things to sort out. My family, work, the upcoming book, and living up to my word with you guys to prove my point. This meant that something had to give. Posting everyday had to be put on hold so that I can focus on a bigger plan. A bigger “brick wall”.

I’m here to say that I believe I accomplished that and that I’m back.

Here I am a year later in February 2022 with much more to bring to the table.

Is Your Watch Getting Movement Swapped During Repairs?

If you’re relatively new to the industry or if you haven’t heard yet, many of the watch companies have been resorting to swapping movements in the repair process. This is NOT a rumor. This is NOT a speculation. This is for a fact. Whether you like it or not. If you think this is unethical or morally unjust then I suggest you pick that fight with them. I am not here to state whether or not this is a matter of ethics and whether or not they should be doing this. Rather, I am here to discuss WHY they are doing this.

WHY WOULD A COMPANY OR BRAND RESORT TO MOVEMENT SWAPPING RATHER THAN REPAIR IT?

One of the main reasons why a brand or company would ever resort to a tactic like movement swapping is boiled down to consumer demands and money. Plain and simple.

If the repair volumes are ridiculously high and the staff is on the low side, companies can and will resort to movement swapping if the finances make sense. Due to societal reasons of having everything faster and wanting everything done quicker, companies and brands have created variations of task-tracking.

WHAT IS TASK-TRACKING?

Task-tracking (in some shape and or form) is a method used to monitor a repair from start to finish. To give you a perfect example, companies will track when the repair is taken in for service, how long it takes to provide an estimate, how long it takes to disassemble, polish, clean, get parts, repair, and then quality control. This metric provides companies and brands with what you as the consumer will call Estimated Completion. Having these metrics allows the company to give you the consumer a rough date on when the repair will be done on average.

WHY IS ESTIMATED COMPLETION IMPORTANT?

Most manufacturers will say it takes 6 to 8 weeks from start to finish. I know what you’re thinking. 6 to 8 weeks sounds like an eternity. Many brands know this. This is why most brands are actively fighting and competing to produce the fastest repair cycles. Even though a company may say 6 to 8 weeks, they may even go as far as returning the way within the week. The more in-tune a company is with their repair volume the shorter these Estimated Completion dates will be. It is not uncommon to hear 3 to 6 weeks for a repair now. It makes sense in a way that they’d much rather under promise and over deliver.

WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH MOVEMENT SWAPPING?

The above sections describes an eagle eye view of the repair process for just one repair. Now imagine if this is was multiplied by hundreds, thousands, and even in the hundreds of thousands. This is one of the problems that major brands and companies are dealing with. With more releases of watches and less watchmakers, companies are having a hard time with keeping up with theses demands.

Having In-house watchmakers service all of these movements will take a seriously long time especially if there are a wide variety of movement calibers and parts needed. Not to mention that all watchmakers are not equal in talent and skill level. This creates a lag time in you as the customer receiving your repair back.

IF THE ECONOMICS MAKES SENSE, MOVEMENT SWAPPING IS GREEN-LIGHTED

Now that you’ve gotten the backdrop and eagle eye view of the situation, let’s proceed back to the main topic. As you can see, if the demands are high and the watchmakers/resources are low, movement swapping becomes the fastest alternative to this problem. Although it is just a bandaid, it’s an immediate fix for the current situation brands face.

If there are influx’s of thousands of watches coming in a month and a company has about 10 to 20 watchmakers, that is still not enough time to complete all repairs within a reasonable Estimated Completion date. It is cheaper and faster them to have their front line watchmakers to replace these movements with movements that have already been serviced elsewhere. This ensures that you as the client receive your watch faster than if you were to wait for a traditional service.

WHAT IS THE PROCESS OF A MOVEMENT SWAP?

The movement swap process is rather simple. You bring your watch in for a repair. The watchmaker creates an estimate with what is wrong and what needs to be fixed. You receive the estimate. You approve or decline it. For this case, we’ll say you approve it. The repair gets pushed along. The repair gets disassembled. At this point, the company has a supply of the exact same movements in your watch already waiting to be used. They grab a movement that was serviced already and replace it in your watch as they proceed with the repair process. Everything else gets worked on as stated on the estimate. You then get your watch back as the client.

WHAT HAPPENS TO THE ORIGINAL MOVEMENT?

The original movement gets refurbished. God, I hate that word. The old movement is either contracted to another watchmaker outside of the company or shipped overseas to a large group of service centers to fix and repair. Believe it or not, it is actually cheaper to have outside watchmakers service the movements and spend their time to get parts, quality control, etc. than it is to spend the time and resources of these watchmaker in-house. Especially given the retail dynamics of the client possibly spending even more money if the brand is able to over deliver. There’s a much bigger aspect of money going on here than just the repair process folks.

Once the movements are completed outside, they are shipped back to the company. The company then packages and stores it as inventory for the next client with a watch that has that very same movement. As you can see the actual servicing aspect of the repair process is taken away completely and has been outsourced in a way. This saves the current in-house watchmakers more time. Like many would say, time is money.

IS THIS ETHICAL / MORAL?

Unfortunately, this is not for me to decide. I hold no power nor would I want to impart my personal viewpoints on this subject matter. I am pointing this out because as of late there has been many rumors in regards to movement swapping. Many ask whether or not this is ethical. For companies, this is a matter of profit. As you can see, this all ties back to the initial demand of clients and money.

I’ll give you an even better viewpoint here: imagine if all the clients in the world sudden says “I dont care how long it takes, just please make sure my watch is done right.” This entire avenue of watchmaking may take a complete 180. I say may for a very good reason. There will always be someone who wants their repairs faster and or a company that wants to over deliver in some shape or form.

NOT EVERY COMPANY IS DOING THIS….

I want to ensure you that not all companies are doing this. There are many that are and there are many that aren’t. This article was to tell you that the industry IS doing this. Before you start boycotting every single watch companies, let’s examine why some companies require you to send your watch back to the manufacture.

WHY WOULD A COMPANY REQUIRE ME TO ONLY HAVE IT REPAIRED BY THE MANUFACTURER?

Some companies require clients to send their watches into the manufacture for repair. Why is that? I am not saying that they are movement swapping. I am explaining why this might be.

Most companies, when they release an in-house movement, will require you to send it directly in because they want to study the ins and outs of what went wrong with this specific evolution. They want to know why a part failed or why the movement stopped, etc. This enables them to understand what aspects need to be improved upon and what parts to pay more attention to. This is not to say they are replacing your movements rather they are studying your movement.

When they get a better understanding of what goes wrong, they create a database of things to look out for and things to improve upon. This is generally very common for in-house movements.

Is this true for every brand? No.

Many brands did this to a degree when Swatch Group first announced that they were limiting ETA movements. This is also another reason why you see sales warranty extended and or longer than your average 2 years.

MY OPINION: THIS WAS PERHAPS THE STARTING POINT…

This is just my opinion folks. Please don’t take anything I say as black and white. I believe that the in-house craze was what really started this concept of movement swapping and kicked it into high-gear (not that it wasn’t already entertained by the industry long ago). In-house movements forced companies and brands to re-evaluate where their resources and time were spent. Couple that with the ever-growing consumers of watches and the dwindling pool of watchmakers, time and resources were of the essence.

HIGH-END WATCHES ARE LESS LIKELY TO EVER BE MOVEMENT SWAPPED

Please keep in mind that many HIGH-END watches (I’m talking about expensive expensive) probably do not do this. If the movement is high-end, the finances does not make for the company to outsource the repair process. For movements and watches like this, companies will have it traditionally serviced.

Like I said, client demands and money are the backbone of the movement swapping process. If the repair process cost MORE to swap out the movement, they will surely not do so.

SEE THROUGH EXHIBITION CASE BACKS

If you have an exhibition case-back or clear see-through case back then perhaps this does not pertain to you as much. You as the consumer can see your movement and numbers and what not. This is an issue that companies can’t overlook. If you see that your movement number is different, this might raise red flags. This really pertains to watches that you cannot see the movement from the case back.

Can UV Light Kill the Coronavirus on Watches?

Figure 1. A breakdown of UV Light and it’s potential usage for watchmaking and coronavirus

OVERVIEW OF UV LIGHT TO COMBAT THE CORONAVIRUS FOR WATCHMAKING PURPOSES

There has been a lot of craze about the possibilities of using UV light to kill the Coronavirus (COVID-19). While a lot of it is plausible and possible, the usage of UV light to kill the virus on watches may be more problematic as opposed to a solution to the industry.

WORLD WILL BE CHANGED WHEN COVID-19 IS OVER

One of the first things we’ll find is that when the pandemic (at the time of this writing) is over, the watchmaking industry (and the world) will be changed. Many processes will have to be reviewed and scrutinize to the highest degrees for health and safety. This is especially true with the take-in process for after-sales service in watchmaking.

AFTER-SALES SERVICE TAKE-IN PROCESS WILL NEED TO BE EVALUATED

The repair process for service departments around the world will need to be re-examined. Considering that we do not know whether our customers and clients have been infected with the virus, how are we going to handle the watches when they come in without catching the virus?

This will be one of the biggest hurdles logistically speaking to overcome. Independent watchmakers will have a significantly easier time handling this since their operations are smaller and they can be more mobile and flexible. The bigger giants in the industry, simply due to the sheer number of employees, will have a harder time implementing, fixing, and tweaking these new protocols.

HOW DOES UV LIGHT FIT IN THIS EQUATION?

One of the biggest questions I’ve received since the COVID-19 pandemic is whether or not UV light is a good weapon against the virus. Researchers from a 2018 paper published that “continuous very low dose-rate far-UVC light in indoor public locations is a promising, safe and inexpensive tool to reduce the spread of airborne-mediated microbial diseases.”

Wavelengths of UV light in the range of 200 to 280 nm have been demonstrated to effectively deactivate bacteria and viruses due to DNA mutations induced by the absorption of UV light by DNA molecules. Since UV light exposure can kill microbial diseases before it gets into a host, it’s not unreasonable to see it is being suggested as a solution to our problem.

“CAN I USE UV LIGHT TO KILL THE VIRUS ON MY SKIN?”

NO. Do not use UV light to kill COVID-19 on your skin. Do not even attempt to use UV light to sanitize and decontaminate yourself. We are only talking about using UV light in regards to decontaminating and killing the virus on watches not on the human body and skin.

However, there’s more to the equation than meets the eye.

In this post today, we’ll go over what UV light consists of, the dangers, and the logistical questions that we will be faced with if we do proceed with UV light as a possible decontaminate against the Coronavirus.

WHAT IS UV LIGHT?

It’s important that we establish some basic guidelines first. Simply put, ultraviolet light is a form of radiation that is invisible to the eye. Radiation is a form of energy therefore ultraviolet light is an invisible part of the electromagnetic spectrum. I promise I will keep this as laymen as possible.

Ultraviolet light is part of the natural energy produced by the sun.

UVA, UVB, & UVC

The three common types of ultraviolet light that the Sun emits is:

Ultraviolet A (UVA), Ultraviolet B (UVB), and Ultraviolet C (UVC)

Here is a quick breakdown:

ULTRAVIOLET A

• UVA = 400nm - 315nm, lowest energy

• UVA is also what we commonly refer to as ‘black light’

• UVA rays penetrates the ozone layers. About 95% of the ultraviolet radiation that reaches the Earth's surface is UVA.

• UVA rays cause tanning, and the shorter wavelengths of UVA also cause sunburn. There is no such thing as a safe or healthy tan. UVA radiation is proven to contribute to the development of skin cancer.

• UVA rays penetrate your skins deeper than UVB rays, even though UVA rays are less intense. Exposure to UVA rays can cause genetic damage to inner cells on the top surfaces of skin including the dermis. This is also how you get a tan by the way.

• UVA radiation is one of the components used in watchmaking for UV glue and UV curing of crystals. Fun fact, it is also the main type of light used in most tanning beds.

• UVA makes up about 95% percent of UV radiation on earth from the sun.

• UVA can penetrate windows and cloud cover which is why some people can still get a tan on a cloudy day.

• UVA destroy vitamin A in skin

• UVA is regarded as the least harmful but can contribute to the aging of skin, DNA damage and possibly skin cancer

ULTRAVIOLET B

• UVB = 315nm - 280nm, medium energy

• UVB is similar to UVA in that it can also penetrate and damage the outer layers of your skin.

• UVB is absorbed by the ozone layer. Prolonged exposure causes sun burn and could result in unhealthy effects on the skin and eyes.

• UVB intensity fluctuates. UVB rays can damage skin year-round (does not matter whether it is summer time or not folks).

• UVB rays can be filtered and do not penetrate glass.

• UVB exposure is that it induces the production of vitamin D in the skin.

• UVB destroy vitamin A in skin

• UVB rays can burn the skin and damage eyes

ULTRAVIOLET C

• UVC = 200nm to 280nm, highest energy

• UVC can cause damage to all forms of life and is effective in microbial control.

• UVC causes damage to the nucleic acid of microorganisms in the DNA so that when it tries to replicate, it dies. Pretty neat eh?

• UVC rays are the highest energy, most dangerous type of ultraviolet light

• UVC energy at 253.7 nanometers provides the most germicidal effect

• UVC energy as an application to inactivate microorganisms is also known as Germicidal Irradiation or UVGI.

• UVC research in 1878, found that artificially produced UVC can be a method of sterilization

DANGERS OF ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT

Many experts in the field advise against using concentrated UV light to prevent or treat the Coronavirus. With the current literature and knowledge, regular dosages of UV lights like UVA and UVB are not ideal or strong enough to kill the virus. Research on coronavirus strands like SARS (similar but different to COVID-19) found that UVA exposure for 15 minutes had little to no impact on the virus (to be fair, the study did not look at different exposure rates or even the use of UVB). This means that standing in the sun for hours may not help in killing the Coronavirus.

Therefore, the option that we are talking about is UVC.

As a disclaimer, we are not to be using UV light in to sanitize and decontaminate ourselves. This is just asking for a whole host of other problems. Only significantly high levels of UVC light can kill viruses and even at those levels will cause damage and irritation to the individual.

Now that we’ve established we are not using the UV light to kill the virus on us but rather talking about the potential applications of using UV light to kill the virus on watches, we may continue.

Dr. Pokrath Hansasuta, assistant professor of virology at Chulalongkorn University states "UV is able to kill COVID-19 if it is exposed to concentrated UV ray in a certain amount of time and distance.”

So the question isn’t whether or not the UV light can kill the virus but rather how much and how long?

UVC REQUISITE KNOWLEDGE

We’ve established that UV light can kill the virus. Now we need to figure out how much and how long it takes to kill the virus. The problem with this is that it requires a heavy degree of research and we do not have that knowledge at the moment. We do not know the virus well enough to determine how much exposure is required and for how long. The exposure rate can be different if the virus is living on stainless steel versus cardboard. What about leather straps and other various metals that bracelets are made out of? To compound the issue even further, new research tomorrow can scrap everything that was created in this post.

Here’s the short list breakdown:

• There hasn’t been any research looking at how UVC specifically affects COVID-19

• Studies have shown that it can be used against other coronaviruses such as SARS

• Recent study suggests that UVC could be used to disinfect personal protective equipment

  • The problem with the research study is that it needed the highest degree of UV exposure out of the hundreds of viruses they’ve tested

  • Another problem with the research was that the amount of UV depended on various factors such as shape, type, material, and surface the virus was on

• UVC is extremely dangerous and should be limited in terms of exposure

  • To put things in perspective, it takes hours of exposure to UVB for sunburn to occur but with UVC, it can take seconds

• UVC usage requires special equipment and training therefore not everyone will be able to access this type of radiation

  • Even if they were able to acquire UVC, usage without the requisite knowledge of safety and training may lead to immediate and potentially long term side effects that may or may not go away

• There is a emerging type of UVC called Far-UVC that is considered less dangerous and just as lethal to viruses and microorganisms but further research is necessary.

  • Far-UVC has a shorter wavelength than our normal UVC

  • The limited research experiments suggests that it does not damage human skin cells. Again, further research is required to see if the effects are replicable, safe, and properly evaluated

LOGISTICAL QUESTIONS FOR WATCHMAKING PURPOSES

Let’s say you have a UV light at work or at home that you used to glue crystals. Can you use that to kill the virus? Here are some concerns:

WATCHMAKING UV LIGHTS

Most of the UV light machines that we use in the industry consist of UVA and UVB rays. In theory, if you just leave the watch under the light for hours on end, it should kill the virus sooner or later. The problem is that we do not know how long and whether the concentration of the UV light is strong enough. If you own a Loctite UV curing machine, they can be helpful to a degree. The problem still remains, how long and how much?

Even then, how many watches can you place under the lamp or in the machine at once? The lamps and machines are costly to be ordering in bulk.

EXPOSURE- WHO WILL BE DOING THE JOB?

Another logistical problem you’ll run into is who is in charge of doing the decontamination? If UV light is to be considered as form of decontamination, you’re going to need someone to oversee and do it. Are they okay with the constant UV exposure? Will they be properly equipped to handle it? Who really wants to be handling watches in front of UV light the entire time?

CERTAIN MODELS, DIAL,& HANDS CAN’T BE EXPOSED

There are some models with specific dials and hands that cannot be exposed to UV light. Will the person in charge know this? The problem will be the exposure of the watch to the UV light under a specified amount of time. If you leave a watch in there for a minimum of two hours, it could wreck havoc on certain models.

STRAPS & BRACELETS

We will need to remove straps and bracelets as well. If the virus is living on the watch, it is safe to say its on the strap or bracelet. Will we be placing the watch entirely under the light and into the machine itself? Or would we have to remove them?

What about quick service- link changes, removals, strap and bracelet changes? How do we decontaminate a watch in order to remove a link safely with the usage of UV light? It will no longer be considered quick service if the client is going to wait hours for the decontamination process to be over.

CONCLUSION

The use of UV light to kill the Coronavirus is appealing and interesting. However, further research is required.

It is safe to say on an individual and independent basis, this can be done but requires a great deal of knowledge and safety in execution. For larger brands and companies, I would say the use of UV light is not feasible due to the sheer volume of incoming repairs and personnel they have to oversee. Because the organization is big, the amount of time it takes to implement new procedures will be slower. With any new procedures comes trial and errors. Fixing these mistakes will be slow as well since we will need a good deal of data first prior to executing another initiative to fix existing issues. Compared to smaller independent organizations and watchmakers, they can implement these changes almost immediately.

The use of UV light is dangerous but can be harnessed if the requisite knowledge is attained.

The logistics of UV light is where the problems will occur for both small and large companies alike. Detailing a specific outline to handle these questions are crucial in developing a well thought out decontamination strategy using UV light as the primary source.