Simon Michlmayr has been in the watch and clock business for over 40 years. Reknowned Horologist and Watchmaker, we chatted to Simon about his passion for time pieces, his ‘Ultimate Challenge’ and how a Citreon C1 get’s his adreneline pumping.
Tell me a little bit about how the first generation of Michlmayr watchmakers began
My Dad (Frederich but known as Fritz) was born in Austria and came to England in 1956 as a newly qualified watchmaker to learn English.
Training at that time was very different to how it is now in Europe. You had to do an apprenticeship or go to college to be able to call yourself a watchmaker.
When he first came to the UK, he worked in a shop called Baines on Prince of Wales Road, Norwich. It just so happened his future wife, my mother, lived above the shop with her parents. After a few months of working at Baines, he started to lodge with them and went on to marry my mum in 1958.
In 1961 my dad started up his own business and it was called the Swiss Watch Shop. His first shop was on Bethel Street which got knocked down to build the library. He then moved to Charing Cross, which was knocked down to build the dual carriageway. I get the impression the council didn’t like him particularly!
He then moved to Pottergate and opened a shop selling all sorts of watches and stuff. In the mid ‘70s, Dad decided that he wanted to only service watches, so he shut up shop. He bought the house next to ours on Park Lane and converted it to a watch service centre.
In 1979 he decided to convert a house into a shop on Unthank Road and moved the service centre back onto the high street. Sadly, he died unexpectedly in 1986, which is when I took over the reins.
Born into a family of watchmakers, was your career path predestined?

Simon & his brother Peter opening his first business in 1986
No. When I was young, I was mad about aeroplanes, and I wanted to be a pilot. I was in the air training corps but sadly when I tried to join up for the RAF, I was rejected because of my eyesight. I then thought OK, I’ll become a navigator but again my eyes failed me.
At the time, the RAF would put you through university, so I decided I’d study engineering and become an Officer Engineer, But sadly I couldn’t apply as both parents needed to be British. Dad said he’d get naturalised, but at that point, I thought, this just isn’t meant to be.
At 17, having been in the workshop all my life, I decided to train as a watchmaker in Hackney Technical College, London.
My brother Peter was already training as a watch repairer in Germany. In those days, business families used to swap children on an informal apprentice exchange.
We had all sorts of people in and out of the business over the years and my mum taught them English. Luckily for my brother, he was raised to speak German and was sent to Germany to learn the trade.
He initially went to train in a place called Solitan in Switzerland and was probably the first non-Swiss person at that point who ever got to go to Swiss watchmaking School. It was a huge honour but unbelievably my brother decided after a year that he didn’t want to make watches, he wanted to repair them and left. I would have loved to have had that engineering opportunity. Back then designing for Rolex would have been the dream.
Peter stayed in Germany and has worked as a watchmaker since.
What’s the favourite part of your job?
I’ve been doing this a long while now, but I still see different things every day and I’m still fascinated by engineering.
A pocket watch could be 250 years old, yet the engineering and craftsmanship is as amazing as some designs today. They probably had to forge their own metal, make their own cutters and lathes and do all the maths. It would have been so much harder in those days, but they still produced such quality.
I love the variety, one day I’m working on church clocks, next day I could be at someone’s house looking at a domestic clock.
Every timepiece comes with a history. We recently had a gentleman bring in a Rolex watch that his father had ordered whilst he was a prisoner of war in Colditz. Incredibly, British prisoners of war could order from Rolex, they’d deliver to the camp, and you paid when you got back to the UK. That’s some history.
What has been the most important horological invention in your lifetime?
The co-axial escapement which was invented by renowned British Horologist George Daniels in 1976. I met him a couple of times and he was an unbelievably clever man.
The biggest downfall in watchmaking is lubrication as it fails over time, which then affects the time keeping. Daniels spent a lifetime researching a solution and succeeded with his design of a lubricant-less escapement which is now called the Co-axial.
When you look at the principles of it, it all seems so bloody obvious. His design was bought by Omega who have continued to refine it as manufacturing and materials have improved.
You have been involved in the development and build of two watch brands – tell us a little bit about both
Over the years, I’ve done a lot of work for other people – assembling watches, design and build of watch parts. But I knew when I left college that I wanted to make my own watches.
I went to the arctic a few years ago and I was sponsored by Breitling at the time. I got to pick a watch to wear on the expedition, I chose a Chrono Colt.
It was great and it did the job, but I kept thinking this doesn’t quite do what I want. When I returned home, I decided to design my own watch – The Meridian. It’s a simple watch which is tough enough to function in Arctic conditions, our strapline is ‘it’s a tool not a toy’. You can see and buy Meridian watches at Oakleigh Watches.
I also co-own Garrick Watchmakers, which is a very different style of watch. The designs are not always traditional, but they’re all built using traditional watchmaking skills.
We do so much stuff in watchmaking that’s not even seen. Finishing and polishing that unless you take the watch apart, you’ll never appreciate the heart and soul that goes into it. But for me, it’s all about the artistry and craftsmanship – that’s what Garrick’s all about. Every watch is different, even the basic designs have got a twist for the customer.
Tell us a little bit about your spirit for adventure?

The North Pole
Since I was a teenager, I’ve been walking and rock climbing around the UK, Europe and even Russia.
I helped with the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme, and we used to travel all over the place doing trips with school children. It was hugely enjoyable.
But for my first big adventure, in 1994, my best friend and I drove from here to Tanzania in a Land Rover. It took us 5 months in total.
Then in 1986 and 1987, I completed two trips to the North Pole. I like the cold.
The first expedition was a paid adventure called the Ultimate Challenge, organised by David Huntman Adams. I was fortunate to be invited back the following year to help guide an expedition.
The trip is 6 weeks, and life becomes very straightforward – it’s all about survival. Things that you take for granted like having a cup of tea or going to the toilet, must be carefully planned. Everything must be planned, which means you don’t have the head space to worry about anything other than how you’re going to get from A to B.
Eating becomes a huge focus. I had to eat 8000 calories a day – that takes a lot of planning and time to consume. Even then I lost a stone and a half as I was burning so much energy to walk and keep warm.
The simplicity is nice, this was pre mobile ‘phones and the internet – so you could disappear completely. When I was in Africa, a letter I wrote to my mother arrived 18 months after I’d returned home. She had no idea where I was during those 5 months. Imagine if she’d had to live through the day, we got stuck in a hole in what was then called the Congo!
Of course, when you get back to reality, life becomes more complicated again, which is why I love trips like these.
Do you prefer working on watches or clocks?
Both. I’m slightly strange because most people within the industry specialise in either clocks or watches.
I adore watches, but I also really like working on big public clocks. Maybe it’s just the use of the large hammer or it’s the adrenaline of dangling on a clock face and abseiling down.
But overall, it’s about problem solving, and working on both gives me the variety and challenge I love.
Do you have a favourite watch brand and if so, why?
Well, obviously it’s Garrick but if I had to choose another it would be Lange & Söhne. They’re beautifully made, well-proportioned and the design is not overly fussy.
I obviously spend a lot of time looking at the inside rather than the outside of watches and Lange & Söhne are really well engineered.
Watches are a bit like cars, Ferraris for example – they are wonderful on the day they work properly. When the roads are right and the weather’s great, they perform perfectly. But on a not so nice day, you think why on earth have I got this thing?
So, you need a watch that ticks all the boxes, not just the aesthetic and status ones!
Time is precious, what’s your favourite way to spend an hour off?

24 hour Snetterton Race
I race cars now; I love the adrenaline. I don’t know why I didn’t start doing it years ago. It’s brilliant, I love it and can’t wait to get back out the next time.
I’ve never been particularly competitive, and to begin with I preferred endurance racing because of the strategy behind it. But actually, when I get on a race track and start fighting with somebody else for a position, I become incredibly competitive and just want to be in front.
I race a Citroen C1, which allegedly is the cheapest form of motor racing, but don’t let anyone tell you that!