Considering a career change in the watch sector, any recommendations?

[Maximem514]

Hi everyone!

I'm here to open a new thread, unfortunately not technical or on how amazing my 126300 is (just joking). I live in Paris France where I've been working in the defense sector for a few years. However, I'm so bored in my job that I've been recently considering doing a career change. And if there was one field I would love to work in, it would definitely be the "haute horlogerie" as we call it in french. I'm a rolex passionate, but still have lots to learn about it.
I'm more a marketing/economic intelligence kind of profile than a engineer. Does anyone of you guys rolex passionate have any clues/tips/recommendations on how to start a career in the watch industry? Who to meet? Where to start?

I look forward to getting your comments on this.

Thanks!

Max

[Joeguy]

Interesting question, I hope someone knows the answer as I am curious about this as well.

I’ve recently retired from my first career and I have been considering asking Rolex if I could do volunteer work at their facility.


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[beshannon]

What exactly would you like to do? I think you need to answer that question first.

Sell them? Build them? Repair them? Distribute them?

[superdog]

Originally Posted by beshannon

What exactly would you like to do? I think you need to answer that question first.

Sell them? Build them? Repair them? Distribute them?

This.

[brandrea]

Welcome to the forum Max

Depending on your situation, perhaps you’d consider working at a Rolex AD to gain some experience with the brand. From there, who knows, maybe it helps to open some doors

[Burlington]

Have you tried the various companies websites - almost all corporate websites have a careers section. At least you won’t have a language barrier applying for Swiss based roles.

[Maximem514]

Originally Posted by superdog

This.

Thanks for your reply. You're absolutely right, I should've given more details.
I'm currently working as an market analyst in the defense sector. Ideally, and what would make more sense I believe, would be to apply my skills to the watch industry, at least, in the first place.
But the part that i'm really interested in is the buying in auctions and finding the rare pieces, to sell them out.
I'm doing next month a training to learn how to build and unbuild a movement, here in Paris. I hope it will give me more ideas.

Best.

Max

[Maximem514]

Originally Posted by brandrea

Welcome to the forum Max

Depending on your situation, perhaps you’d consider working at a Rolex AD to gain some experience with the brand. From there, who knows, maybe it helps to open some doors

Thanks for your reply! I thought of that and I've been looking into it. But that would mean restart from the beginning, like I never went to Uni. Since I'm an MA graduated, I'm trying to find a way to either apply my current skills and knowledge to the watch industry (hopefully rolex), or to start my own business. I think it'd be too risky to start from the beginning if that makes any sense

[Maximem514]

Originally Posted by Burlington

Have you tried the various companies websites - almost all corporate websites have a careers section. At least you won’t have a language barrier applying for Swiss based roles.

Thanks for your reply. I did! But before sending any applications in, I wish to follow a few classes to learn how to properly build and unbuild an automatic movement.

Cheers!

[SearChart]

Originally Posted by Maximem514

Thanks for your reply. I did! But before sending any applications in, I wish to follow a few classes to learn how to properly build and unbuild an automatic movement.

Cheers!

Fun to see the internals but you'll need years of full time training to become a watchmaker.

[AK797]

Please go work in the Rolex Fortress... and be our mole... I'll run you myself.

[crew]

Maximem514: Awhile back we had a member, Chris, that worked at an AD and started a thread about working in the industry. It was an “AMA” thread (Ask Me Anything) and was very insightful. You should check it out.
Here’s a link to it:
https://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=156634

[77T]

Welcome to TRF

I’ll take a little different angle a’la “What Color Is Your Parachute?”
(check out the book if you haven’t already)
If you follow it up with some soul-searching, you’ll gain an advantage.

By the way, you’ll soon realize asking career questions on TRF raises more questions than answers...not a problem - just the way it works. Sometimes just giving a pat answer isn’t easy.

So, you’re bored in your current role as an analyst in the defense sector. IMHO, the first thing to do is an old-fashioned “Ben Franklin” on the current situation.
(see https://owlcation.com/humanities/Ben...-Pros-and-Cons if that’s an obtuse reference)

Substitute advantages/trade-offs for pros/cons. Why? Because a trade-off is some little issue that you’re willing to overlook for something in exchange. A “con” is usually a negative for which there is no solution. For example, long and irregular hours await you to be at the top of any career - the trade-off might be recognition, high monetary compensation, or admiration by family & friends. But if you wanted 8 hours of sleep and a regular 7 hour day + full holidays, then the long and irregular hours is a “no-go”.

Your current career situation may be recoverable with a few small changes. Happiness in a job is usually gained by challenging yourself. For example, the boredom may be due to lack of challenge or advancement. If you need a degree to go further, then utilize programs to gain that education while working. I promise you’ll never be bored again trying to juggle schedules, class work and new learning. It will also motivate you beyond compare.

Next idea is to retrace your steps regarding your choice of the current career. Avoid making the same decisions the same way as you consider your future direction. Becoming a dealer in rare haute horological timepieces is a challenge - but will you chafe at the dealings with obstinate dealers and customers?

Lastly, if all signs point to a career in the rare vintage watch world, you can start just as you’ve said already. Get a basic knowledge of watchmaking so you know the lingo. Maybe find a position in a vintage dealer’s shop to gain experience.

If you’re going it alone, add some additional steps. Gain some good procurement processes. Join all the important EU watch guilds and associations. Learn some good sales skills. Learn good business practices. Study EU economic laws, restrictions and practices for independent sellers. Get some accounting knowledge as well as tax law knowledge. And then you’ll be ready to start your own business. You could do this in your spare time while relying on a steady income from your current job. Do some deals and see how it goes.

You can also reach out to some TRF dealers who will become your new competition: Milton, Jacek, Springer, etc. pick their brain on the ins/outs of the biz...

Much success


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[Maximem514]

Originally Posted by SearChart

Fun to see the internals but you'll need years of full time training to become a watchmaker.

Haha like I said, I don't plan to become a watch maker, but just to gain more knowledge ;)