Becoming A Watchmaker | Alena Diaz

Alena Diaz is a watchmaker in the Pacific Northwest - she's taken her passion for all things mechanical and has ticked some pretty incredible boxes - from working alongside some of the worlds most talented horologists on automatons, to restoring and maintaining historical clocks, to engine turning dials and even working as an independent watchmaker for indie as well as well-established watch repair shops! Join us as she walks us through her personal journey in the specialized field of watchmaking!
CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE: / @thetimist
Follow Alena's journey more closely via her Instagram: / alenagracediaz
If you're curious about learning and would like to dive deeper into the world of watchmaking, below are some resources that Alena calls out in her presentation:
North Seattle College - Watch Technology Institute:
northseattle.edu/programs/wat...
Northwest School of Horology:
www.norwestschoolofhorology.co...
American Watchmakers Clockmakers Institute (AWCI)
www.awci.com/educationcareers...
Veterans Watchmaker Initiative:
www.veteranswatchmakerinitiat...
Horopedia Watchmaking Schools List:
horopedia.org/watchmaking-sch...
FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM - shoot me a message!
Instagram: / the_timist_ig
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[@thetimist]

Interested in watchmaking? Great! Check out the links in the description for more info to get your rolling 👍

[@tomhill4003]

Alena... You are AMAZING! I was a teenaged gearhead too, but got tired of the grease (but not the fat paychecks). It's so wonderful to see women in the trades... long overdue.

[@thetimist]

Well said, I'm sure Alena appreciates this greatly :)

[@tomhill4003]

@@thetimist I hope so. My two daughters are total gearheads as well... at least on a hobby level. I hope to see more women doing this kind of work in the near future.

[@RabbitWatchShop]

Becoming a certified watchmaker was always a dream of mine, but after learning about the average annual earnings, I decided to have a career in real estate. It’s admirable to see, because most of them don’t make much. It’s a labor of love.

[@thetimist]

A niche industry and craft without a doubt - it's never too late though! Also, with the rise in watch culture as of 2020 certified watchmakers are in higher demand, and the compensation packages reflect that 👍

[@RabbitWatchShop]

@@thetimist I’ll be satisfied with repairing my own watches, and repairing families, friends, and my neighbors. I love working them on, but my wife has seen me curse in a fit of rage when it takes me an hour to place a seconds hand on a canon pinion 😆 appreciate the reply. Cheers 🥂

[@Rhal63]

What a great way to spend the morning. Listening to a watch maker with who has a lot of passion and enthusiasm. Thank

[@thetimist]

Glad to hear you enjoyed it 👍

[@dadmodswatches]

This was great! A wonderful story in a little known world. Thank you so much for sharing this.

[@thetimist]

Happy you enjoyed it! Alena is a great storyteller and I was happy to be able to help share it 🤗

[@TravelTwoExplore]

Inspirational and awesome, nice job Alena!

[@thetimist]

Glad it inspired you! Talented people have that kind of effect 🤝

[@JudyBorowy-ux8xn]

Wonderful evening with great people

[@thetimist]

It truly was! Thank you SO MUCH for hosting us ♥

[@Sophies-watch-world]

What a bright light in watchmaking 🥰🥰🥰

[@thetimist]

Truly - Alena is awesome!

[@Alenagracediaz]

Sophie, what an honor, you are to me as well!! ❤

[@thomasmoquin2210]

Hello Alena, I just saw you on KZbin. I really enjoyed your teaching at AWCI in Ohio in February (I was the old man with the cane). I really enjoyed your video “Becoming A Watchmaker”. God Bless, Tom Moquin

[@thetimist]

Glad you enjoyed Alena's presentation, Tom! I'll be sure to pass your kind words along so she see's it :)

[@thomasmoquin2210]

@@thetimist Thank you! Alena is a great teacher.

[@Alenagracediaz]

Thank you so much! It was such an honor having you in my class Tom!

[@maverickwatchreviews]

When she makes her first production ready watch I would love to review one.

[@thetimist]

You and me both 🤗

[@MarkJoseph-vv4pj]

Incredibly modest for such a skilled horological artisan.

[@thetimist]

Modest, skilled, and such a positive person as well 😃

[@Alenagracediaz]

Thank you sir ❤️🙏

[@maritimuse9127]

Wonderful video!

[@thetimist]

Glad you liked it - all kudos to Alena 👍

[@DMTiffanyTimepieces]

Great job, Alena!

[@thetimist]

Agreed, Alena did an amazing job 🙌

[@Alenagracediaz]

Thank you Darren!! It meant the world to tell a bit of our story! ❤️🙌🏼 I appreciate you so much friend!

[@AXELAGONY]

Something I would love to do, but not sure in this lifetime. 😂 Love your content.

[@thetimist]

Never say never! Thanks for the support 👍

[@glennpearce7093]

What aye wonderful person you are ,I’m so pleased that women are thriving in the watch industry.All my best wishes to you and all the other women watch makers .greetings from New Zealand 🇳🇿 watch collector.

[@thetimist]

Thanks for taking the time to drop such a nice comment - I'm sure Alena appreciates it as well :)

[@Alenagracediaz]

Thank you so much, that means a lot! ❤

[@racingr3553]

Great content! Regard from Breitling Wings.

[@thetimist]

Means a lot my friend!

[@mM30040]

nice humble woman 👍👍

[@thetimist]

Alena is amazing indeed 👍

[@laurenceBirket]

Hi, as an amateur watch repairer who so wishes I'd started doing this before the age of 60 and got a proper career path established, hearing your journey to where you got to where you are now is so encouraging for other youngsters and it would have definitely been the route I'd taken. However, I see you mentioned on one of your slides that (I quote) "Having a female mentor out of school was so detrimental to my career." I don't want to sound like a smartass but 'detrimental' is a formal way of saying harmful, which I'm guessing is NOT what you meant to say. Maybe you could find a different way of saying having a female mentor was a huge benefit.

[@thetimist]

Glad you found Alena's presentation useful! I'm sure we've all been a little nervous when presenting to a larger group of people - I definitely won't speak on Alena's behalf, but if I had to venture a guess, I'd say that the spirit of that specific portion was meant communicate that having a female mentor played a monumental role in her career :)

[@Alenagracediaz]

Well thank you for the correction sir, good catch!

[@rosstisbury1626]

hey where are the tattoos 🙂

[@thetimist]

I'm pretty sure they're still there 😆