H e frames time. He arrests and assembles the tiny fragmented parts into a cohesive whole to lend meaning to the physical manifestation of time. He designs time. He intricately brings to life the tiny pallets, pinions and plates to create a masterpiece that is timeless. Ikukiyo Komatsu, the master craftsman for Seiko, currently a watchmaker at the Shinshu Watch Studio in Japan where all mechanical Grand Seiko, Credor and Prospex watches are hand assembled, was recently in Noida for the very first time to showcase his skills at a workshop here.
Assembling at an average 300 parts for a single watch is no mean feat; when in one day only three parts can be put together with completely undivided attention and deep concentration and dedication of eight hours! “Precision is the keyword,” he says as he shows us the watch on his wrist with 427 parts. Words do not come easily to him. The translator’s questions take more time than Komatsu’s short, crisp replies. That’s as much about watch making as about his thoughts and expression. With composure by his side, he goes through the interview in the noisy mall, listening intently to the questions in English and then waiting for the same to be translated for him in Japanese. Patience, after all, is his hallmark. So how does it feel to design time when time actually designs all our lives? “I feel a heavy pressure and a great responsibility when I make a watch. If people maintain one watch, they can carry it for generations and pass it on as a legacy to their children. It is not just then an instrument to tell you the time every hour. It is a piece of heritage to be carried forward into the future.”
Having received no formal education in learning the technicalities of making a watch, Komatsu simply acquired the skill during childhood when he saw his father repair and assemble watches every single day. “It was a natural progression for me,” says Komatsu, “I learnt assembling by seeing. And constant practice brought perfection years later. Earlier as a young boy I used to keep trying to perfectly assemble a watch and would get very excited when I was able to correctly put it all together.” Soon after high school, Komatsu joined Seiko Epson at age 18 and acquired the title of a skilled craftsman over a period of time. And at Seiko he went on to win a gold medal in the International Technical Skill Olympic at the age of 21. He was recognized as a Qualified Modern Master Craftsman by the Japanese Government in 2014. He holds the Japanese National Watch Repairing qualification and at 52 is all set to instruct those eager to make watches.
Concentration, calmness, and deep passion are required to put this skill to such deft work. Was it a part of his personality or did his work teach him all of it? Komatsu is candid when he replies, “Earlier when I began to assemble watches, I lacked concentration and especially patience which is also very important. You need to be bent upon a piece of work for hours. But I developed this trait over a period of time and it now is part of my life.”
Precision is required for designing too. So how does the human hand achieve this precision when crafting the hands of time? “The precision of each part is very important. Each part must be perfect in its make. Only then can I achieve the perfect assemblage. Also, the tools used in watch-making are essential items for expressing a master’s skill and each is personally customized by technical experts to our liking. And then of course the touch of the fingers, the feel, and years of practice together achieve the exact precision. The most important thing is the adjustment of the parts,” he explains, “as is the lighting, the temperature, the air in the room and the chair.” All these factors put together allow a gentle flow of time in his creations. And time, he says, has flown as gently in his life too. He has spent the best years of his life doing what he loves best and achieving much success worldwide. His children though do not want to follow his profession. His son is going to the university now studying hospitality or omotenashi , as they say in Japanese.
Being a designer that requires a very special skill of the hands (when today modern technology is so saturated with mechanization), does he feel special in the sense that it makes him very unique in the world to be able to achieve what does? “I don’t feel special at all. As an instructor I want to pass on my skill to the next generation,” Komatsu reflects an edging eagerness to teach his skill to youngsters and not allow it to go waste. Though he agrees that it is difficult to teach hand skills to the youth these days but again he takes it as his responsibility to “pass on this tradition to the future generations. The Japanese can well demarcate machine work from a hand skill and know the importance of each. So those interested in the craft will definitely want to learn”.
After retiring from Seiko with 35 years of experience behind him, Komatsu wants to continue to repair watches especially those that are difficult to fix and are often returned by the shopkeeper for want of skilled workmanship.
