It is the quietness that first strikes the visitor. The Irish Swiss Institute of Horology is housed in a small building on the outskirts of Blanchardstown, Dublin.
The peace may be due in part to the setting, beside the spacious grounds of the hospital, or to the small numbers of students, four first-years, eight second-years and 10 third-years or to the precise nature of the work. When E&L visits, the four first-years at the bench are intent, using forceps to manipulate "jewels", measuring the external diameter of the synthetic rubies.
George Ball, watchmaking and theory teacher, explains that the first-years will make 10 small tools, which they then will use in subsequent work. Making the tools involves turning, filing, knurling, drilling, hardening, tempering, threading with taps or dies and polishing.
For instance, to make a centre punch, they must file a rod of steel, 6mm in diameter, by hand, so that the four sides are perfectly square. They will also make brass hammers, hand cutters and levers. The toolmakers lathe in the far corner of the room - a Schaublin - is the Rolls Royce of lathes, says Ball proudly.
The parents of first-year student Simon Barber own a jeweller's shop in Fermoy, Co Cork, so he is residing in digs across the road from the college. The course is good but he is feeling the lack of a "few decent pubs and student accommodation". Eventually, he plans to return to Fermoy, but hopes to travel first.
Fellow student Charlotte Comyns spends an hour and a half on Dublin Bus each morning, crossing the city from the South Circular Road. An anthropology graduate, she finds the horology course "brilliant, excellent, it's incredibly intricate . . . they keep us busy with so many different tasks, you don't get bored or over-frustrated". In third year, Michael Ingle is also bitten by the travel bug. He plans to work in Barcelona, possibly with Rolex, Cartier or Patek Philippe.
Karl Fitzmaurice, watchmaking and jewellery teacher, explains that second-year students move on from working with large pocket-sized watches to wrist watches. They must also grapple with the intricacies of calendars and other complications.
In electronics, teacher Frederick Reid has designed a horolometer, which is used to test watches. Students work on a project, over two years, to make their own horolometer, which then becomes their property - they pay for the components themselves. In addition to the tools which students make themselves, the Swiss watch industry provides each students with a set of tools worth more than £800.
College director Brendan O'Brien explains that the college came about when the Swiss watch industry approached the Department of Education with a proposal to set up a school. The school was established, under the auspices of Dublin County VEC, with a Swiss director and assistant. The director, who was to stay for five years, ended up remaining for 20.
In 1986, O'Brien took over. He was the one of the graduates of the final watch repair course offered by Bolton Street in 1952 (there was no course available in Ireland between 1952 and 1965) and then worked with Rolex for 14 years, before beginning work as a teacher with the college.
Students interested in the three-year full-time course need their Leaving Cert with a pass in five subjects, including maths, and one science subject. There is an interview and "we are looking for people with an interest in mechanics. If they have done mechanical or technical drawing at school it would be an advantage. And they should have good patience and aspire to the highest standards," says O'Brien. The college advertises in the national newspapers in May each year and interviews are held in late August.
The fees for the course are £150 per annum and successful applicants may be eligible for VEC scholarships covering course fee and/or maintenance grants.
As for job prospects for graduates, O'Brien says they are excellent with plenty of opportunities to travel. "There is a huge demand worldwide for skilled watchmakers," he says.
The booming economy, combined with increased college places, has made it increasingly difficult to fill the 11 first-year places on offer. Students seem to be more interested in the new technologies, comments O'Brien. However this course also equips students to diversify with some finding work in companies such as Intel and HP.
Contact: The Irish Swiss Institute of Horology, Mill Road, Blanchardstown, Dublin 15. Tel: (01) 821 3352. E-mail: horology@iol.ie
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