Watch repairs for jewellers bring a customer into the store twice per job, and they recur for the life of every watch sold. On Monday, November 2 at 12 p.m., Trillium Watch Service will show retailers how to run that service profitably at the Time & Shine Jewellery Trade Show in Toronto.
| Seminar | Handling Watch Repairs at Store Level |
| Presenters | Charles Harris, CEO, and Sevan Khidichian, President and Head Watchmaker, Trillium Watch Service |
| Date and time | Monday, November 2, 2026, 12 p.m. ET |
| Location | Time & Shine Jewellery Trade Show, Toronto |
| Cost | Complimentary for registered trade attendees |
| Registration | timeandshineexpo.com |
A Saturday afternoon, late in the season. A man sets his father’s steel chronograph on the showcase glass. The crystal is scratched, the pushers feel loose, and the watch stops sometime overnight. He wants two answers. Can it be saved, and what will it cost?
The next two minutes decide where that watch goes. A rushed ticket that reads “not working” sends the job to the bench half described. Consequently, the estimate arrives late, the price surprises him, and he takes the watch home unrepaired. A precise intake, however, turns the same conversation into a paid job, a second visit and, very often, a client for life.
Those two minutes are where Trillium Watch Service begins its seminar, “Handling Watch Repairs at Store Level.”
Why are watch repairs a profit centre for jewellers?
For jewellers, watch repairs bring people through the door when nothing else does. Stuller, the American bench supplier, puts numbers on it. By its estimate, repairs bring in 15 per cent or more of a typical jewellery store’s revenue and about 60 per cent of its foot traffic. Comparable Canadian figures are not published, so the American number serves as a benchmark here.
Watches also come back on a schedule, a pattern that runs through our watch business coverage. Rolex, for instance, recommends a full service roughly every ten years, and watches worn daily usually need attention sooner. In other words, each mechanical watch sold today carries a future appointment with a watchmaker. Canada imported US$474.65 million in clocks and watches from Switzerland in 2024 alone, according to UN Comtrade data. Every one of those pieces will eventually need service.
Now picture a store that books six watch services a week. Suppose its service partner charges $220 on average and the store prices the job at $395. That leaves $175 per ticket, or roughly $54,600 a year, before a single strap or bracelet is sold at pickup. These figures are illustrative, of course. Your own price list sets the real numbers, so it pays for jewellers to run this sum on their own watch repairs.
Who is teaching the Trillium seminar?
Trillium Watch Service launched at the Time & Shine Jewellery Trade Show in Toronto in November 2025. One year later, its founders return to teach the counter side of the business.
Sevan Khidichian, President and Head Watchmaker, is a fourth generation watchmaker trained in Paris. His bench experience includes Cartier and Patek Philippe. Charles Harris, Chief Executive Officer, is a watchmaker and clockmaker. Before Trillium, he was Service Manager at Bulova and Plant Manager at Citech Quartz Corporation (Citizen).
Together, they cover both ends of a repair. Sevan knows exactly what the bench needs to receive. Charles, meanwhile, knows how a service operation stays organised when the volume climbs.
Where do jewellers lose money on watch repairs?
The seminar follows one repair from start to finish, and each step closes a specific leak.
Vocabulary comes first. A sales associate who can name the crown, bezel, crystal, caseback and calibre speaks the same language as the bench. With that language in place, your team can confirm the brand and record the watch’s condition at intake. Scratches and dents go on the ticket, so nobody argues about them at pickup.
Translation is arguably the most valuable skill in the room. A customer says the watch “stops at night.” The watchmaker needs to read that the power reserve may be short, which points to the winding, the mainspring or wear in the movement. Writing the complaint in bench language saves diagnosis time and, as a result, money.
Quoting carries its own risk. Trillium will show when to give an initial cost from a price list and when to promise a detailed estimate instead. That distinction matters, because a price that later doubles is the fastest way to lose an approval. Good customer records support the whole process, from the first call to the last.
Silence is the final leak. A customer who hears nothing for three weeks assumes the worst. A two minute call protects that trust and keeps the job in your store.
How does the handover become the next sale?
Final delivery is where a repair pays twice. The watch runs again, and the customer comes back relieved. This time, they are standing in front of your showcases with nothing to worry about.
That moment invites a natural conversation. Show what was done. Explain when the next service is due, and log the date in your client records. A new strap, a bracelet adjustment or a second watch for a spouse often follows with no pressure at all. Above all, watch repairs let jewellers earn trust before they ever ask for a sale. A customer who trusts your service department is far more likely to buy their next watch from you.
Trillium closes the session with its own methodology. Every watch it services moves through a clear estimate, a documented workflow and final testing before it returns to the store.
Why does Canada’s watchmaker shortage favour the prepared retailer?
Canada trains very few watchmakers. The École nationale d’horlogerie in Quebec is the country’s only watchmaking school, with about 20 full time students and a waiting list, according to CBC. Meanwhile, Government of Canada Job Bank data recorded a major labour shortage for jewellers and watch repairers in British Columbia’s Lower Mainland between 2021 and 2023.
That scarcity changes the economics of the counter, and it rewards jewellers who handle watch repairs with care. A watchmaker’s time is the most limited resource in the repair chain. Therefore, a store that sends complete, accurate tickets uses less of it and waits less for results. It also builds a stronger working relationship with its service partner. Customers feel the difference too. When a neighbourhood loses its local watchmaker, people go looking for a store that can still answer their question.
How can jewellers attend the watch repairs seminar?
“Handling Watch Repairs at Store Level” takes place on Monday, November 2 at 12 p.m. at the Time & Shine Jewellery Trade Show in Toronto. Attendance is complimentary for registered trade attendees, and registration takes a minute at timeandshineexpo.com.
Bring the person who runs your repair counter. Bring your own questions on turnaround, warranty work and pricing as well. If you have never met Trillium, this is the simplest introduction there is, face to face, before the holiday rush fills every repair envelope in the store.
Plan both days if you can. On Sunday, November 1 at 11 a.m., Shopify presents its own seminar for jewellers on the same floor. Each edition of the Time & Shine Jewellery Trade Show welcomes retailers attending for the first time. Many of them first read about the show in Canadian Jeweller, and the Toronto programme is built around what they need for the season ahead.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Trillium Watch Service seminar at the Time & Shine Jewellery Trade Show?
“Handling Watch Repairs at Store Level” is a practical session on watch repairs for jewellers and their teams. It covers watch terminology, intake, customer communication, estimates, follow up, final delivery and Trillium’s service methodology.
When and where is the seminar, and what does it cost?
It runs on Monday, November 2, 2026 at 12 p.m. at the Time & Shine Jewellery Trade Show in Toronto. Attendance is complimentary for registered trade attendees, and registration is at timeandshineexpo.com.
Who should attend?
Store owners, managers and sales associates who take watches in at the counter will gain the most. Jewellers who send watch repairs out to a service partner benefit as much as those with a watchmaker on staff.
Why are watch repairs profitable for jewellers?
Each watch repair brings a customer into the store twice, and every mechanical watch needs service again within about ten years. In the United States, Stuller estimates repairs drive about 60 per cent of a typical store’s foot traffic.
How often does a watch need servicing?
Rolex recommends a full service roughly every ten years. Watches worn daily, used in water or built with older movements often need service sooner.
Author: Olivier Fel.
Olivier Felicio is the founder and publisher of Canadian Jeweller Magazine, Canada's jewellery business publication since 1879. He writes on retail strategy, market data, trade policy and the commercial side of the Canadian jewellery and watch trade, and hosts Time and Shine, Canada's jewellery buying event. Contact: olivier@canadianjeweller.com.
