AJ Watch Repairs
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‘It’s as though the timepieces have personalities and we have to figure out exactly what’s going on with them’
Watch experts offer new, exclusive timepieces TRADITIONAL watchmakers AJ Watch Repairs is expanding its range of timepieces. Watchmaker Krzysztof Jakubaszek says that a lthough AJ’s is primarily a watch-repair shop, it already sells brands exclusive to Canberra and some that very few places in Australia have. “We will soon be the sole national distributor and importer of exclusive brands such as Tacs, Akteo, and a major Swiss design label Alfex with a national service centre right here in Canberra,” he says. “These are popular international brands, and we’re proud to be able to stock them here in the nation’s capital.” AJ’s also sells German brands Mühle and MeisterSinger, Australian Adina, which uses Swiss parts, with other, well-known Swiss brands such as Glycine and Classique also displaying in their showcases. German cuckoo clocks, barometers, weather stations fill the walls at AJ Watch Repairs and through the glass partition customers can see the watchmakers at work. Krzysztof says they repair any timepiece, dealing directly with companies such as Omega, Tag, Raymond Weil, Rado and Tissot , Seiko and Citizen to name a few. “It could be anything from removing or adding links to changing batteries with pressure testing or a complete overhaul,” he says.
Celebrating its 20th anniversary, AJ Watch Repairs was established in 1996 by Krzysztof’s parents Andrzej and Stella Jakubaszek. Trading for the last 18 years at Bailey’s Corner, Krzysztof says AJ Watch Repairs is a family r un, locally owned and operated business with a long history of traditional watchmaking. “My father Andrzej is a master watchmaker and he learned the trade from his grandfather,” says Krzysztof. “As a watchmaker, you do a five-year apprenticeship, which dad did at the European Watchmaking School. I did my training at the Australian Watchmaking School, which is part of Ultimo TAFE in Sydney. “Before opening our own store, dad has worked with Goldmark and Prouds as their watchmaker, and we have also done work for large institutions like the Australian War Memorial, the Department of Defence and the ACT Emergency Services. “Originally, my dad was trained as a mechanic but grandmother convinced him that it would be better to work on smaller gears in a heated or cooled environment rather than in the cold with ice and snow-covered cars, so he switched to watchmaking.” Krzysztof says the thing he loves most about his job is that: “Every day is something different, something new comes across the bench, a new puzzle to solve.
Garden
Father-and-son watchmakers Andrzej and Krzysztof Jakubaszek... “Every day is something different, something new comes across the bench, a new puzzle to solve,” says Krzysztof. “Even with watches of the same type, the problems are always different and we have to work out what the customer is trying to tell us, but also what the timepiece is trying to tell us.
Witch
“It’s as though the timepieces have personalities and we have to figure out exactly what’s going on with them. “We come to know each timepiece intimately and there is a lot of work that goes
into seeing it come to life again.” AJ Watch Repairs, Shop 33, Bailey’s Arcade, 143 London Circuit, Bailey’s Corner, Civic. Call 6 262 5900.
Tennis
Akteo – This French brand of watch is back in Australia after a five year absence.
ONLY AT AJ Watches The only place in Australia with Akteo
Many more models available.
ONLY AVAILABLE IN CANBERRA AT AJ WATCHES
TACS – A new range of watches available in Australia for the first time.
ONLY AT AJ Watches The only place in Australia with TACS
Many more models available. Double channel
Channel cute
Vintage Lens
AJ Watch Repairs, Bailey’s Arcade, 143 London Circuit, Civic • Call 6262 5900 CityNews July 21-27, 2016 7