Nyeri watchmaker still at it 30 years down the line
With most people opting to check the time on their mobile phones, staying in business despite the advancements in technology has been tough for watch dealers.
It is not a job many would prefer, but Peter Kinyanjui, 65, has repaired and sold watches in Nyeri Town for 30 years, and is not about to relinquish his tools soon.
He was at the Kenya Polytechnic as a lab technician in his early life when he developed keen interest in microscopes and stopwatches. These he would dismantle when broken and reassemble afresh, each piece in its place.
“I would repair them for the students. It then struck me that I could earn from what I was passionate about,” Mr Kinyanjui told the Nation from his stall on Kenyatta Street.
The father of four blamed the introduction of mobile phones for plummeting revenues. The transformation of watches from the old ones to the digital kind was also a headache.
EASY TASK
But despite this, Mr Kinyanjui’s business has remained relevant for years as there are people who cannot do without a wrist watch.
“The digital watches were a little complicated, but I took time to get to know them and now they are the easiest to repair,” he quips.
Mr Kinyanjui gets to work around 9am and sorts out the watches that need to be collected and those that need to be repaired that day before he gets down to business.
Watches that need new batteries are the quickest to fix, but there are those that require a change of various internal components, including springs, drums, pallets and bridges.
His earnings from the business have educated all his children. He uses a magnifying glass that he clips on one eye to view microscopic parts of the watch that are not visible.
“This magnifying glass is only used to view the tiny parts, but I can manage to get the watches fixed without the magnifying glass,” he explains.
CHALLENGES
Mr Kinyanjui’s workday ends at 6pm after repairing about 20 watches, on average. “The challenge comes when a client brings a watch and says it’s the battery, but then you have to open it up and check the different parts to fix it,” he notes, adding that this can be time-consuming.
Mr Kinyanjui faces such challenges a lot, he says, but tries to do his best to fix each and every watch. He also endeavours to remember each face that brings a watch to him.
According to the watch repairer, lack of patience and concentration has locked out many a young person from getting into his line of work.
“Young people want jobs that they can do hurriedly, get paid and move on to the next, which discourages them from my kind of work,” he says.
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