Richard Perrett is a watchmaker living and working in South West Wales in The United Kingdom.
In an increasingly frenzied world where much that was once analogue and elegant is now digitized and sanitised this is a place where you can discover something that remains real and solid; something that can be held in the hand and that has, like us all, a delicate beating heart … the mechanical watch!
The art of watchmaking is gentle yet visceral. It requires a calm mind and a steady hand and when done well the result is very often a thing of real beauty and precise, resilient function.
I have not always been a watchmaker. For twenty years I was a soldier. I served in the deserts of Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Kuwait, in the hills of Bosnia and the streets of Belfast and long after handing my rifle back into the armoury for the last time my mind had a habit of spinning a little too fast.
Then one day I looked into the back of a beautiful jewelled watch and saw in it, not just a jumble of cogs and springs, but the peace and clarity of mind that was necessary for its design and fabrication. I was fascinated and hooked. This was more than a pastime it was a lifeline. In starting to learn my craft I spent the first five years essentially breaking a lot of watches. But slowly, through practice and perseverance, I got to know ‘what was what’ and how to perform the essential tasks.
With adequate experience under my belt I set up my YouTube channel and now with this website I hope to complement my videos with detailed articles on much of what I demonstrate.
In the summer of 2022 I started to train my eldest daughter as my apprentice. Jennifer has, as I knew she would, very quickly become a proficient assembler and tester and she now assists me with the production of Sea Wolf and the design of some new watches that we are developing for 2023.
I am not a master watchmaker (yet); such men and women are these days very scarce and special. But what I lack in skill and talent I endeavour to balance with determination and an ability to convey the essence of this gentle craft.
