The Watch Repairman

Watercolour painting of a watch repair ‘master’ sitting at his tiny stall situated in the technical gap between shops on a busy Wan Chai street.

I’m fascinated by these types of micro-businesses that feature craftspeople and specialists of one particular thing. These ‘blink and you miss them’, half a stride-sized stalls and shops appear in the most unlikely of places due to the exorbitant cost of retail space.

Usually, you wouldn’t even notice a stall such as this one, they seem to merge into the background noise of the street, that is until the ‘time’ comes when your watch needs repairing or a new battery, and then these stalls seem to magically appear on the street. That is if you are watching for them.