Mr. Chin’s Watch and Clock Repair Shop
I have always wanted to visit Kanchanaburi, Thailand, which is the site of the famous bridge on the River Kwai. Here’s what I found there.
By Michael Clerizo
Contributor
Mr. Chin owns a watch and clock repair shop in Kanchanaburi, Thailand, a town bisected by the River Kwai. Yes, there is a River Kwai, and during World War II, Allied POWs built a bridge across it.
However, it is not the majestic structure that spans the river in the 1957 film The Bridge on the River Kwai that (SPOILER ALERT!) ultimately collapses after an operatic act of sabotage.
The real one is a railway bridge designed by Japanese engineers, built using Japanese steel, and constructed using POW labor.
None of that interested Mr. Chin.
Leaving Home
When he arrived in town nearly fifty-five years ago, straight from his family’s rice farm, he was only 19 years old. Back then, leaving home was a rebellious move for a young Thai man, as the Thai culture values keeping family close (in a geographical sense).
Mr. Chin told me he knew his parents, brothers, and sisters would miss him and he them, but he wanted to taste town life and learn a trade. He was certain he’d arrived in the right place when he realized it took more time to meander through Kanchanaburi town than to walk around all the rice fields in his village.
Becoming an Apprentice
In Kanchanaburi, he discovered a square where all the shops fixed watches and clocks, so he became an apprentice, working in several shops simultaneously. Then, after about three years, he met his soon-to-be wife.
Then, after five years, he took over the business of someone who wanted to retire. He has been in the same spot ever since.
Mr. Chin’s Watch and Clock Repair Shop
When he started, all the watches and clocks brought to him for repair were mechanical. Now, the watches are almost always quartz. “Mechanical is better,” explained Mr. Chin. “Mechanical is more satisfying to work on.”
People still bring him mechanical clocks to repair, although that kind of work has also been slowing down. So, as an additional income stream, he now sells quartz clocks and offers batteries for electronic car keys.
Several times a year, he scours the area’s flea markets where he bargains for any watches and clocks – mechanical or quartz – he knows he can repair and sell at a profit. Once the timepiece is happily ticking, he can always find someone to buy it.
On the day I visited Mr. Chin’s shop, he fixed a quartz chronograph from the Italian fashion brand Armani. When the owner attempted to replace the battery, he damaged the movement. I was able to watch as Mr. Chin enthusiastically tackled the job.
By the time I left, after about two hours, the watch worked. If that seems like a long time to do a simple repair on a quartz watch, Mr. Chin was frequently interrupted by my questions relayed by my Thai translator.
I have observed several watchmakers at their workbenches who occupy the highest tier of the profession: Philippe Dufour, Roger Smith, Vianney Halter, George Daniels, and others. Mr. Chin’s accomplishments do not equal those of such masters.
However, that is not the point. The concentration on his face, the surgeon-like nimbleness of his fingers, and the care that he takes were the same as those watchmakers.
Throughout the process, Mrs. Chin looked on. With tenderness in her eyes, she handed her husband tools before he asked her and moved the workbench lamp so he had more light.
All four of Mr. and Mrs. Chin’s children, two boys and two girls, left Kanchanaburi for jobs in Bangkok. Did this make him sad? “No,” he said. “You cannot stop young people from doing what they want to do. I did the same thing when I was their age.”
Mrs. Chin added, “They are good children. They come to see us often. And all of them have a clock fixed by their father.”