The Devil Is In The Details: Inside A Watchmaking Masterclass

So, how do you go about a watchmaking masterclass?

At first, there’s order. Inside Kapoor Watch Company’s posh service center in South Delhi, we put on shoe covers and walk slowly towards a service room. It’s bright, clean, sterilised and engulfed in silence. Watchmakers are busy in different rooms working patiently on timepieces from different brands that have come in for a nip and tuck. No loud noises. No sudden movements.   

But the main order of business today is Bvlgari’s first-ever watchmaking masterclass in India, helmed by Clement Drobniak, a watchmaker from the Bvlgari manufacture. The idea is to not only deconstruct and then bring a watch movement back to its original settings but also understand the rigours and intricacies that watchmaking entails.

We reach our respective desks. Everything is neatly placed. A set of finger gloves. A watchmaker loupe (a small magnifying eyeglass designed for close-up inspection and work on tiny components), a set of forceps and an assortment of watchmaker screwdrivers. You also have the star of the show – Bvlgari’s inhouse BVL 191 calibre from the Octo Roma watch. The lighting is perfect. Everything is in order.

Then, there’s chaos. Nimble hands. Controlled breathing. Razor-sharp focus on tiny components that are easy to misplace. Thankfully, we are going easy today and only working with a small part of the movement – which includes the escapement, the rotor, balance wheel, a pinion and pallet fork.

I pick up the movement and observe it. At first, everything about it feels tiny compared to my chunky fingers. As I position the loupe carefully over my right eye and slowly move closer to the desk mat, my view expands and explodes. The movement appears like a world of its own. The screws and jewels stand out. The golden hues sparkle under the bench light. The ridges, the Geneve patterns on the movement tell you how beautiful and intricate the world of watchmaking is. It’s controlled chaos. All you need is to take a closer look.   

I begin slowly. Picking up the right screwdriver, as Clement guides us through every step. The screws come out slowly, but not too easily. They often jump out of my forceps. Did I lose a screw? Thankfully not. The mat is well positioned and elegantly designed to handle these tiny parts and components.

It’s time to be extremely gentle when I finally reach the balance wheel. Once the screws come undone, I pick up the component with the forceps as the hairspring resists the pull slightly. Can’t yank it out. Must be gentle, I tell myself. I hold my breath. A gentle pull, just the right amount of pressure, and it finally comes free. The hairspring retracts and bounces slowly. I breathe again. But now comes the tough part.

I must admit: putting the components back to where they belong is harder than undoing the movement in the first place. The screws must be put in the right groove. The components must sit right. The devil is in the details.

Clearly, buying a luxury watch is easier. Working on the movement or putting a whole watch together is not everyone’s cup of tea. Experienced watchmakers like Drobniak do this for hours at end. It’s an exercise in patience but also mastery at its finest.

As I finally sit straight again and wring my neck back again to its original settings, I take off the finger gloves. My fingertips are sweaty. My left eye tries to get back to its basic calibration. Never ever underestimate hand-eye coordination.  

Clement gently walks to my seat. He picks up the movement. With one keen eye and look using his loupe, he tells me: “It’s perfect.” We check the basic functions. The movement is just how it is supposed to be. Everything is in order once again.

Just like that, we are done. But wait, where did the time go?