Graduation

Well my adventure here in Switzerland at WOSTEP is drawing to a close. Two weeks ago we had three days taken up by the final exams. Two and a half hours of theory followed by 16 hours of practical. The practical pieces were a Lemania chronograph which had many faults from the chronograph eccentrics, bent wheels, incorrect end shakes to the centring and flatness of the hairspring etc. Then there was an Omega automatic and an ETA quartz which just needed a basic clean with correct lubrication and timing. There were of course a few dramas on the day but we all made it through and stopped at the pub on the Friday for a well deserved beer, or two, or three . . .

During the following week the professionals from inside the industry came to the school to mark our pieces so of course they needed to kick us out. We spent three days visiting various factories. Monday we visited Chopard, it was a very hot day with temperatures reaching over 30 degrees with not a lot of wind. They have in recent years set up a small museum also inside the factory so it was a lovely morning spent touring the factory. Tuesday we ventured a little further from Neuchatel and had the very pleasurable experience of seeing inside Patek Philippe. This day started at the truly amazing museum, unfortunately two hours is not long enough to really absorb everything. Then onto the factory for a wonderful three course lunch with some of the management before the tour began. At the end we were seated before eleven complicated watches valued at over five million swiss francs. Wednesday was another busy day, the morning started with a tour of the Omega factory, which unfortunately ran over time so we missed out on their museum. Then onto lunch with A.Betti before an extremely interesting tour of two of the many ETA factory buildings.

With the factory tours over and done with we had Thursday to clean the school from top to toe; the fridge had some very interesting specimens growing inside. The motivator for these tasks was getting our results when we finished. At 1630 both the refresher and the two year course gathered in the theory room and awaited our verdicts. There was a very close call but overall the school was very proud to announce everyone passed included the student from last year doing his reset. So once again back to the pub for a couple of beers.

Friday was taken up by sleeping in (no scheduled program) and then preparing for graduation. The ceremony took place at the Château of Neuchatel which is a beautiful old castle where we received our diplomas before moving onto a five star hotel on the lake side to enjoy a wonderful three course meal. After the formal event the partying continued at the local watchmaking drinking hole Cafe du Cerf till the wee hours.



My time here in Switzerland has been a truly wonderful experience not only have I expanded my ability as a watchmaker but I have also had an intense period of personal development. I have not always been happy with the way I handled the pressure but I am now out the other side and can’t wait to experience the industry again and really measure how much I have learnt.