Rules, certificates and requirements in watchmaking

Many think the watchmaking trade requires public license. It does not. Watchmaking is not a licensed trade like for example electrical or plumbing work where the law requires formal approval to perform the work. But it does not mean the trade is without rules and responsibility.

§Your journeyman certificate as documentation

The most important proof of your competence is the journeyman's certificate which you get when you have passed the journeyman's exam. It is your documentation that you have completed a recognized education and master the trade. Although the journeyman's certificate is not a statutory authorization it is in practice your ticket to the trade and to customer confidence.

§Statutory safety courses to keep up to date

Although the trade itself does not require authorisation parts of the work may trigger requirements for special courses. If you work with products containing certain chemical substances there may be requirements for a legally required course in personal safety before you may work with them. It is an example of how workplace environmental rules also apply in a fine mechanics trade.

§The trade council sets the frameworks

Behind the Education Stands a Professional Committee Where Both Employers and Employees are Represented. The Committee Sets the Education's Objectives, Approves Training Companies and Ensures Quality of the Journeyman Exam. It is Part of the Way Vocational Educations in Denmark are Managed, Where the Industry Itself Helps Determine the Content.

§Responsibility to the customer

When a customer brings in a watch, they're often bringing something with both great economic and emotional value. This is why there's great responsibility connected to the work. You must be able to document what you've done, give realistic information about repair and price, and live up to the ordinary rules about complaints and warranty that apply to work and trade.

• 01Provide clear information on price and repair before you start
• 02Document which parts you have changed or worked on
• 03Observe the rules regarding complaints and warranty
• 04Treat the customer's possessions as the valuables they are

The rules in the trade are thus less about a stamp approval and more about professional pride, documentation and integrity. It's your journeyman certificate and your reputation that carries your business.