40 Years of Watchmaking

This year, Michlmayr celebrates 40 years of watchmaking.

To mark the occasion, we wanted to look back at where our story began — with a 21-year-old watchmaker, a family legacy and a rather memorable plate of sausage rolls.

Where it all began

In 1986, Simon Michlmayr opened the doors to his first watch and clock-making shop at just 21 years old.

Opening a business at that age was a huge step, but watchmaking already ran deep in the Michlmayr family. Simon’s father, Fritz Michlmayr, had built a reputation as a skilled watch and clock maker, with a business in Norwich.

Simon grew up around the craft and followed in his father’s footsteps. Fritz helped guide his training, passing on the knowledge, patience and attention to detail that traditional watchmaking demands.

Simon then took his training even further, travelling to Switzerland to study at the prestigious Watchmakers of Switzerland Training and Education Programme in Neuchâtel, at the heart of the Swiss watch industry, where graduated top of his class.

Sadly, Fritz passed away in April 1986, prompting Simon to open his own business. Fritz had played an important part in Simon’s training and had helped prepare him to carry the family profession forward.

Simon’s first shop & layout design

The sausage roll story

Every business has an opening-day story and ours involves sausage rolls.

Simon and his family went to a great deal of effort to make the first day welcoming. They put wine out for visitors and, naturally, a plate of sausage rolls on the counter for everyone to enjoy. One visitor walked into the shop, saw the plate and tried to buy them. It was perhaps an understandable mistake, since there was a baker’s shop nearby on Lawson Road, after all.

But the story has stayed with us — partly because it makes us smile, and partly because it captures the spirit of those early days.

Michlmayr has always been about more than watches and clocks. It has always been about welcoming people through the door, getting to know them and understanding the stories behind the things they bring to us.

“Digital watches are very cold”

When Simon opened Michlmayr in 1986, the watch industry was changing rapidly. Digital watches and quartz technology had transformed the market, and traditional watchmaking faced an uncertain future.

Simon, however, believed there would always be a place for quality craftsmanship.

When the Eastern Evening News visited the new shop, Simon shared his thoughts on the growing popularity of digital watches:

“Digital watches are very cold. They have no feeling to them.”

That sentence has stayed with us because it captures something we still believe today.

A watch can be much more than an object that tells you the time.

It can be something you inherit or something you receive to mark an important moment or something that reminds you of someone you love.

Simon never turned away a digital watch, of course. If someone needed a repair, he was happy to help. But his passion has always been for mechanical horology.

Building Michlmayr

Starting a specialist business at 21 required plenty of determination, and Simon received valuable support in those early days.

The Norwich Enterprise Agency Trust helped him secure grant and loan assistance, while the Norwich Marchesi Rotary Club awarded him a £1,000 grant. Norwich City Council’s Employment Promotion Committee also provided a £1,000 loan.

That support helped Simon turn his training and ambition into a working business.

From there, he built Michlmayr one customer at a time.

Repairs quickly became a major part of the business, particularly the restoration of antique watches. Simon’s specialist knowledge allowed him to work on timepieces that required patience, experience and an understanding of traditional techniques.

Over the years, that work has brought thousands of watches and clocks through our doors.

Caring for Norwich’s clocks

Our work has never been limited to watches.

Over the years, Simon has also cared for many significant clocks across Norwich and the UK, helping to maintain timepieces that form part of the region’s history.

One long-standing connection has been with the Norwich City Hall Clock .

For many years, Simon has looked after the clock, carrying out the specialist care and maintenance needed to keep the historic timepiece running.

It is a responsibility he is particularly proud of, as it is a very challenging clock to keep running.

Norwich City Hall is the centre of the city, and being trusted to care for its clock has given Michlmayr the opportunity to play a small part in preserving that history.

For us, this is what traditional watch and clock making is all about: keeping important pieces of our past working for future generations.

From traditional craftsmanship to official certification

As Michlmayr has grown, so has our expertise.

Our commitment to professional watchmaking has led us to become officially certified to work on watches from some of the world’s most prestigious watchmaking groups.

These certifications reflect decades of technical knowledge, ongoing training and our commitment to maintaining the high standards expected by leading watch brands.

Our work now spans an exceptional range of timepieces, from traditional and antique watches to modern luxury movements.

For us, certification isn’t simply about the brands we can work on. It represents the trust placed in our expertise and our commitment to continuing to learn.

Forty years on, we are still doing what Simon set out to do at 21: keeping craftsmanship alive and helping treasured timepieces continue their journey.

And we can’t wait to see where the next 40 years of watchmaking takes us.

Bespoke watchmaking in Norwich

One of the specialist areas that Simon has committed a huge amount of time to, is bespoke watchmaking, this started with building watches for other brands, which lead to in 2014 Simon co-founding world renowned English watch brand Garrick Watches alongside Dave Braisford where they handcraft English bespoke watches in Norwich.

Garrick watches are made in limited numbers and are now sold to collectors around the world.

The watches are available to see here: https://garrick.co.uk/  

Looking Forward,

Michlmayr has a highly skilled and dedicated team of horologists that works with us today and we are currently training and committed to training future horologists as our industry is on the red list for endangered skills.

We would like to say thank you to our past, present and future customers.

Michlmayr and Co Ltd