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A watchmaker is an artisan who makes and repairs . Since a majority of watches are now factory-made, most modern watchmakers only repair watches. However, originally they were Master craftsman who built watches, including all their parts, by hand. Modern watchmakers, when required to repair older watches, for which replacement parts may not be available, must have Machining skills, and can typically manufacture replacements for many of the parts found in a watch. The term clockmaker refers to an equivalent occupation specializing in .
Most practising professional watchmakers service current or recent production watches. They seldom fabricate replacement parts. Instead they obtain and fit factory spare parts applicable to the watch brand being serviced. The majority of modern watchmakers, particularly in Switzerland and other countries in Europe, work directly for the watchmaking industry and may have completed a formal watchmaking degree at a technical school. They also receive in-house "brand" training at the factory or service center where they are employed. However, some factory service centers have an approach that allows them to use 'non-watchmakers' (called "opérateurs") who perform only one aspect of the repair process. These highly skilled workers do not have a watchmaking degree or certificate, but are specifically trained 'in-house' as to service a small number of components of the watch in a true 'assembly-line' fashion, (e.g., one type of worker will dismantle the watch movement from the case, another will polish the case and bracelet, another will install the dial and hands, etc.). If genuine watchmakers are employed in such environments, they are usually employed to service the watch movement.
Due to restrictions on genuine spare parts, an increasing minority of US watchmakers are becoming 'independent,' choosing not to work directly for the industry or at factory service centers. Rolex, a leading Swiss watch brand, pre-qualifies independent watchmakers for spare parts access. Requirements may include a modern training certificate from a reputable school, a workshop that meets Rolex's cleanliness standards, modern equipment, or—for American watchmakers—membership in the American Watchmakers-Clockmakers Institute. The Omega SA brand has the same approach. However, the vast majority of modern Swiss brands do not sell parts to independent watchmakers, irrespective of the watchmaker's expertise, training, or credentials. This industry policy is thought to enable Swiss manufacturers to maintain tighter quality control of the after-sales service for its watch brands, produce high margins on after-sales services (two to four times what an independent watchmaker would ask), and reduce the availability of second-hand watchmaking parts on the used and fake market.
Richard Dawkins later applied this analogy in his book The Blind Watchmaker, arguing that evolution is blind in that it cannot look forward.
In the NBC television series Heroes, the villain Sylar is a watchmaker by trade. His ability to know how watches work corresponds to his ability to gain new superpowers by examining the brains of people he has murdered.
In the scifi novel The Mote in God's Eye by Larry Niven, the Watchmakers are a small technologically intelligent sub-species of the Moties that will repair/improve things left for them (accompanied by food as payment).
In the 2015 major motion picture film Survivor directed by James McTeigue, one of the world's most wanted killers is played by Pierce Brosnan, who demonstrates just how devastating the precision skill sets of a watchmaker can be as he plays the role of 'Nash,' a professional killer who excels at bomb making and long-range shooting.
In the film 12 Angry Men, Juror 11 is a watchmaker. Like most of the jurors, his job reflects how he views the case, approaching the facts very methodically and keeping everything in order. It also reflects his status as a European immigrant, a fact commented on by Juror 12.
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