Archives for September 2012

September’s Horological Times 2012  

I would like to thank all the AWCI members who voted for me for the position of Director on the AWCI Board. I would also like to thank the members of the Board of Directors who entrusted me with the position of president of AWCI. I am looking forward to working with you this year to bring about some positive changes. We are all very lucky to have such talented members on the AWCI Board. Congratulations to the new Directors, Jordan Ficklin, CW21, Mark Butterworth and Mike Blaszczyk, CW21. Thank you to the out-going Director, Joseph Schrader, CMW21 and past president Douglas Thompson, CW21 for serving the membership. We wish you the best of luck in your endeavors.

Being a watchmaker and clockmaker for over twenty-five years and having served in many capacities in this industry, I have a good knowledge of its workings, both the positives as well the negatives. I am confident my experience will enable me to propel the after-sales service industry to new heights, which will ultimately result in further stability and growth of the retail sector in the U.S. The two sectors are inextricably linked together; one cannot exist without the other and still hope to prosper.

After having left the AWCI in late 2007 as watchmaking instructor, I had the renewed experience of working in the field again and seeing the way the real world works. The repair sector (After-Sales Service) is not always a pretty picture. The workmanship standards (Standards and Practices), which AWCI has created, is not always adhered to by the membership, as well as the non-membership. This is a great area of concern to me and needs to be corrected.

As part of my election promise to you, I would like to substantially increase consumer awareness of our existence and thereby bring more customers to your doorstep—this equates to more income in your bank account and, therefore, more personal leisure time. For this to happen, you need to keep your end of the promise and continue to adhere to the highest standards attainable when working on timepieces and when dealing with your clients.

If you would like to serve on a committee or have questions, comments and concerns I encourage you to contact me at the e-mail address below.

In the meantime, keep your skills honed, your standards very high, your attitude professional, your tools and equipment in great condition and your workshops clean and organized. You never know who may come by to pay you a visit.

Manuel Yazijian