If there’s one thing I’ve learnt about this industry since stepping behind the red curtain, it’s that it’s not all that the glossed horological PR front makes it out to be. I have had a number of disappointing revelations about my trade since I first set out to become a watchmaker, and my school was not the least among these. That said, I still love my work and I treasure the time that I am fortunate enough to have spent learning my profession.
I undertook two diplomas of study at Canada’s last remaining horological school in Trois-Rivières, Québèc, and graduated with honours among my class of seven. While the program certainly has its weak points, its fallibilities can also prove to be of great advantage to the self-driven student who recognizes them.
The curriculum at Canada’s National School of Horology (École Nationale d’Horlogerie) consists of a 27 module standard diploma program and an optional 10 module diploma specializing in horological complications. While the course descriptions mandate an 1800 hour duration and 600 hour duration respectively for each diploma, there is no true set timeline to either program. Some students have finished in as little time as just a few months, while others have taken in excess of four years to complete their standard diploma.
The standard diploma offers a well-rounded approach to horology, starting with spring-driven alarm clocks and progressing through larger clocks, manual wind watches, automatic watches, and quartz watches. A good deal of time is spent on hairspring manipulation and escapement adjustment, as well as on lathe work and heat treatment. One full module is even spent on soldering and minor jewelry repair that a watchmaker may come into contact with in his or her day to day operations.
The diploma in horological complications is well balanced between large complications for clocks and complications for both quartz and mechanical watches. Some of the complications covered include: multiple strike trains for grandfather clocks, automatons, moon dials, various methods of date indication, perpetual calendars, and chronographs.
I endeavoured to complete both diplomas in the expected 2400 hour time frame and was afforded plenty of time within those confines to undertake my own horologically related projects. One of my favourite such projects being the creation of a titanium loupe, which I hope to write more on later. Other personal pursuits included the fabrication of a number of tools and watch components not outlined in the curriculum; experiments with balance wheels, hairsprings, and lubricants, including the extremes to which a number of modern day watch lubricants can be pushed; casemaking; knurling; and I was able to arrange to work on complications, which were not part of the curriculum, including a mechanical alarm, vertical clutch chrono, and split-seconds chronograph.
Canada’s National School of Horology is not a school that I would recommend to everyone. If you are interested in both clocks and watches and are comfortable learning independently in an open environment, then it may be exactly what you are looking for. For more information on the National School of Horology in Canada, check out this article on Alliance Horlogère (aussi disponsible en français).
9 Comments
Interesting, thanks. I wasn’t aware of any of that.
Hi J.Edwards,
Welcome to Tick Talk, JP’s an excellent and articulate watchmaker indeed, and hopefully we can have some great posts from yourself as well.
I hadn’t been aware of ‘The Canadian school of Horology’ and thank you for drawing attention to this fact. I see that you haven’t had a great experience there, however, as mundane as watchmaking is- it can get exciting with the same objectives and lessons with an experienced and gifted teacher of Horology.
In my knowledge, hairspring work is absulutely the norm. Even as much as tedious it may be, when dealing with companies like Rolex, that totally rely on breguet type hairsprings, what you learnt in watch school is really essential.
So far, I have come across only 2 gifted watchmakers in B.C.!! I haven’t attempted to go further east, but I am sure, there is a huge gap between right and wrong watchmakers in Canada. Whereas I do not attempt at making ANY comments and relevant appraisals of them, I do know whom to approach (in B.C.), and whom to leave to their own devices!!
SAV- in my opinion, is of a great importance to the watch industry, and many a time overlooked…cheers mate! Regards, Prem
Thank you for the warm welcome Prem.
Judging by your response, I get the impression that I did not articulate myself very well. I enjoyed my time at watchmaking school - very much so! I tried not to nitpick and focus on the school’s weak points. I certainly made no attempt to paint hairspring manipulations in a bad light if I gave you that impression. I included that as one of the program’s better traights.
To be more forthright - though without getting into too much detail - the school lacks standardization. I would not trust my watch in the hands of an unfortunately large number of its graduates. That said, it’s lack of standardization an be made good of if the student is aware of it. A great example in my experience actually involved the hairspring module. I was able to push myself very hard and spent a great deal more time on hairsprings than the course outline mandated. I was able to fly through the pin lever unit, by choice, and spent upwards of 180 hours of my coursework time solely on hairspring work - which has paid dividends since, as I’m sure you know.
Hope that clarifies things a bit.
Hi Jon…LOL..
I didn’t mean to sound that way either!! Standardization is a very big word, and encompasses within it the entirety of the watch Industry. Very little is known to the watchmaking world outside of Switzerland (production techniques), for it is the inherent ways of the Swiss, to be secretive.
To a large degree, watchmakers are hermits, and tend to be engrossed in theory and in practice, in their own little worlds. Hence, upgrading yourself, every few years even if graduates from fine universities, is pre-requisite to understanding newer Swiss developments.
The problem is acute, when confronted by several age groups of watchmakers, teachers, trainers, and the whole institution surrounding the watch industry. So how can standardization really help, when your trainer or management refuses to believe in it? (NIHS- Normes Industrielles Horlogeres Suisses)
Knowledge, practice, and a thirst for novelties is the key. Knowing more by practice, and a stage comes when you say to yourself, ahh I am learning new things everyday! Which is the challenge of a watchmaker in the 21st century, for it is never enough…..
Cheers,
Prem
Hello! Further to this discussion, I am very interested in going to the school in Trois Rivieres. I have some basic questions regarding the studies-number one being I’m basically an Anglophone, do I need to learn French to attend the school? Because if so, I will! I don’t have the money to study abroad, and this is something I’ve always wanted to do, I wasn’t even aware we had a school in Canada until recently. Any info you could share on the school regarding things like costs, etc. would be extremely appreciated!
Cheers
Rob
R. Phillips,
I’m glad to hear of your interest in watchmaking. It is a great profession. I hope one of our Canadian authors will chime in here and let you know if you need to learn French or not, as I don’t know. Putting that aside. Watchmaking is great! Best of luck!
Hi R. Phillips,
You can get by in the course as an anglophone, but to gain anything truly valuable from the program beyond the first six modules of the basic diploma, you really need to learn French. My French wasn’t stellar going into the program, but I was able to pick it up fairly quickly as Trois-Rivières is a very francophonic city. The professors and other students were also very accommodating and helpful.
If you are a resident of Québèc, you can expect to pay about $300 per year for your studies. These fees include the basic tools you will need as a watchmaker, a loupe, a school pocket watch, and a copy of WOSTEP’s The Theory of Horology. All of which would cost you about the same amount that you pay for the course, so the training is essentially free.
If you are Canadian, but not a resident of Québèc, you can expect to pay around $3000 per year for the course. You can also expect to be treated like a foreigner by the school board. I had to apply to have my transcripts processed through the immigration office in order to enroll in the school.
If you are a foreigner, the price of tuition is steep, weighing in close to $30,000.
There are no residences at the school, so you will have to make living arrangements on your own.
I would recommend learning as much French as you can beforehand and, if possible, taking up residency in Québèc before enrolling.
Thanks very much for the info. I guess the trouble would be, as always, the student’s cost of living while at school, it’s hellish to try and work and go to school at the same time, but Quebec is fairly cheap to live in, judging by the time I spent in Montreal. If anyone reading this blog feels philanthropic and wishes to donate to my education……..!
lol
Again, thanks
Rob
My cost of living in Trois-Rivières was the cheapest I’ve paid anywhere I’ve lived in Canada.
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