Watch editor and writer Tomoyo Takai introduces a watch from her personal collection that she holds a special attachment to. The watch in question is an antique Rolex that she acquired in her mid-20s after quitting her job and deciding to enter the watch industry. She introduces the watch while recalling her encounters with people who had a particularly strong influence on her at the time.
Photographs & Text by Tomoyo Takai
[Article published on January 15, 2025]
The watch that determined my decision to enter the watch industry
It's been about four years since I left the editorial staff of Chronos Japan to become a freelance editor and writer. Despite being a very low-ranking member, I've been able to continue working in the watch industry, thanks to the strict yet warm-hearted people around me, including my seniors, who nurtured me. I joined the Chronos editorial team in the fall of 2017, driven solely by my love of watches and naive without even knowing the basics of editing or writing. Going back even further, in 2013, despite having no hopes or connections in the watch industry, I decided to "make it in the world of watches," abandoning my entire career. Again, with the help of many people, I managed to survive and make ends meet.
Today, under the theme of "A watch with special meaning," I would like to introduce an antique Rolex watch. I bought this watch when I decided to enter the watch industry, and it is one that I still wear frequently today. While feeling ashamed of my reckless nature, I would like to introduce it to you with renewed gratitude to the people who have helped me.
I bought it in my mid-20s, just before quitting my job.
Looking back, there were some people who opposed my move into the watch industry. I used to work at the headquarters of a major corporation, an ordinary office worker on a stable path. At the time, I only owned two watches: a Citizen L for daily use and a Cartier Santos de Cartier for formal occasions. "Why watches, all of a sudden?" I'm sure many of my family and friends asked me this question with surprised looks at my drastic change of direction. Due in part to my poor presentation skills, I ended up overcoming some of the opposition. But I was confident. "There is no other world as interesting as this. I'm someone who easily gets bored, but I think I could make watches my life's work."
At the time, I was in my mid-20s. One after another, my friends around me were getting married and starting families. Meanwhile, I was starting a new path from scratch. To be honest, I was extremely anxious. But I still wanted to move forward.
It was vintage watches that sparked my interest in watches. The first place that captivated me was a vintage watch shop called "Blue Maomao" that I stopped by on a trip to Sendai. In one corner of the shop, an Omega Seamaster was on display with its movement in a dimly lit area that evoked the deep sea. It was the moment I realized there was a world view completely different from the watches I knew. This was in 2010.
While I was still excited about that experience, I eventually came across the Rolex watch I'm introducing today. I heard that a select shop in the Kobe foreign settlement where I was living at the time was holding a pop-up event for vintage watches, so I went along. Among the 30 or so watches on display was a small vintage ladies' watch. It was here that I first saw a watch the size of a 1 yen coin, which was once called a "bedbug."
The man serving me seemed experienced with watches, and opened the case back to show me the inside. I was shocked. Even such a small watch houses a movement suited to its purpose. What particularly impressed me was this Rolex from the 1960s. The various parts were neatly and beautifully housed in a marquise-shaped case. The luster of the metal, the sparkle of the rubies, the carefully placed engravings. And the screwed balance wheel and the bustling gears whirring away tirelessly. How could something made half a century ago have continued to keep time unnoticed while remaining in such beautiful condition? I was completely captivated.
The case is made of 14k gold. The bracelet is not genuine, but a Chinese-made one. Therefore, it cost about 25 yen, a price that is within reach if you stretch your budget a little. But of course, it was a big purchase for me. It's not a necessity, after all. After gazing at the watch until I was about to burst, I left the store with a heavy heart.
I've never been so obsessed with "objects" as I was at that moment. For a while after that, I started researching watches through books and the internet, and I also visited other vintage watch shops. In Kobe, I went to Spring Watch Factory and Mig Paris in Ashiya. In Tokyo, I was impressed by the wide selection at Shellman and Cares, and I also learned about the depth of watches at Dazzling, Masa's Pastime, and Curios Curio. I also went to antique watch fairs held at the Tokyo Transportation Center and Matsuya Ginza, and went to any antique shop, flea market, or anywhere I knew they had watches. The more I learned, the more I was drawn in, and I began to want to learn more about watches. Eventually, I began to vaguely think that I wanted to work in the watch industry.
Soon, a turning point came. A man who had heard about my watch-obsessed days through an acquaintance contacted me and asked, "Would you like to help out? I'm running an online shop for vintage watches." I thought it was a golden opportunity. It wasn't an offer to form an employment relationship. However, I wanted to respond to the invitation with all my might. I wouldn't mind quitting my current job. I had some savings, and I could manage even if they were gone. That's what I thought.
Feeling a mixture of elation and anxiety and optimism, I returned to the select shop and found the Rolex still there. I made up my mind and finally got the watch. That was in 2013.
Learn watch repair from repairman Mizutani
Let me write a bit more about my journey from when I got my watch to the present. After that, I learned how to care for watches and run an online shop under a man, and eventually I began to want to fully understand the mechanism of a watch. With no knowledge of mechanical engineering, I often found it difficult to understand the movement, which was frustrating. So I turned to Yasuo Mizutani of Mizutani Watch Repair Studio, who I used to call for watch repairs.
http://www.webchronos.net/features/22250/
Mizutani is a repair craftsman who we introduced on webChronos in 2020. To digress, the July 2018 issue (Vol. 77) of Chronos Japan featured an article titled "Large Discovery of Osaka Watches, Japan's First Pocket Watch Manufacturer." It turns out that it was Mizutani who had previously repaired those precious watches. (I was not involved in editing this article, but seeing Mizutani's delight at the article was quite moving.)
Returning to the story, I begged Mizutani, a veteran of this craft, to let me help him with anything, but at first he flatly refused. It was only natural, considering I was an amateur. But, embarrassingly, I was really brazen and stubborn. From there, I started selling my watch repair business, bringing all the watches I had collected to Mizutani. I started visiting the workshop more frequently, occasionally quietly observing the repairs in progress. I also acquired junk watches and began disassembling and repairing them on my own, sometimes asking Mizutani to check the results. I even attempted to overhaul a Rolex to treat bedbugs. While at the workshop, I also volunteered to help out with odd jobs, such as answering visitors or phone calls. As I'll explain later, it was around this time that I also started attending watchmaking school.
At first, Mizutani was clearly annoyed by me. But after about two years of this, one day I went to the workshop and found that Mizutani had prepared a desk and chair just for me. He then said, "You can take apart anything you like," and gave me several clocks that had been lying dormant in the workshop so I could practice disassembling and repairing them. He even allowed me to help with repairs on larger machines. The workshop also housed several rare clocks that you'd normally only see in museums, and I was allowed to touch them. These included a luxurious Westminster clock made of marble, an ancient clock made from cat whiskers and sheep intestines, and an eight-bell clock made in the Meiji era. I also had the amusing experience of carrying in large grandfather clocks the size of coffins on several occasions.
I continued to visit Mizutani-san until the fall of 2017, when I moved to Tokyo to join the Kronos editorial team. Mizutani-san was happy to hear that I was moving to Tokyo, but he also told me, "There was a time when I thought it would be great if you took over this workshop." Words cannot express my gratitude to Mizutani-san. I have no regrets about my life, but if I could go back in time, I would like to help Mizutani-san again to the fullest.
Studied at Omi Watch School and obtained a Level 2 watch repair technician license.
As mentioned above, I also attended a watchmaking school: Omi Watch, Glasses, and Jewelry College in Otsu City, Shiga Prefecture. Founded in 1969 within the grounds of Omi Shrine to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of "Time Memorial Day," this is the oldest watchmaking school in Japan.
I studied at Omi Watchmaking School for about two years as the last student in the school's correspondence course, which was about to be discontinued. There were several days a month when I had to attend school, and even though I'm not a morning person, I made it a habit to wake up early on those days and visit the shrine before going to school. I was seated in the last row of six students who were first-year students at the time. These six students came from all different places and were of different ages, but we got along very well. I became close friends with them and received a lot of inspiration from them until they graduated. In class, we thoroughly covered important points, from lectures to practical training. I am eternally grateful to the teachers who carefully guided me despite their busy schedules. I attended school with the goal of obtaining the national qualification of Level 2 Watch Repair Technician, which I successfully passed in 2016.
Moved to Tokyo and entered the watch industry
Continuing my digression, one more thing. For me, who wanted to learn more systematically about watches, the CWC (Watch Coordinator Qualification Examination) qualification system run by the Japan Watch Importers Association was also useful. I was able to deepen my knowledge by taking the exam up to the advanced level, and I was able to get a glimpse of the industry's cutting-edge work at member events.
There was another watch that gave me another turning point: Van Cleef & Arpels' "Midnight Planetarium Poetic Complication," released in 2014. I was so enamoured with this piece that I became interested in independent watchmakers, including the movement designer, Christian van der Klaauw, and complicated timepieces like astronomical clocks. I frequented the World Watch Fair and even visited Baselworld alone just to see their works. I also began to visit the famous Kobe watch shop, Kamine. It was around this time that I first met our magazine's editor-in-chief, Hirota, who spoke at a talk show, and my admiration for Chronos Japan began to grow.
After that, I moved to Tokyo and started working as an editor before moving full-time into the watch industry, where I continue to this day. Returning to the theme of this article, I believe it was my encounter with vintage Rolex watches that led me to this point. My interest in watches is still undiminished. Recently, I have expanded my connections with people in astronomy, physics, and planetariums, and have once again come to realize the profound depth of watches and time. Watches and time are universal, and it is also enjoyable to be able to discuss them on an equal footing with people from other countries. I still have a lot to learn, but the vast world of watches is endlessly expanding, and it keeps me dreaming forever.
