About Us
About Our Shop
At the Watchmaker's Shop, our goal is to provide world class service at the local level for a range of customer needs. We have 2 Certified Watchmakers who are dedicated to providing high quality maintenance and repair of fine timepieces. At the Watchmaker’s Shop, your timepiece will be handled only by a Certified Watchmaker, a practice that separates us from other service providers.
The Watchmaker's Shop is located in the historic Grove Arcade in downtown Asheville, NC. Our business has served the greater Western North Carolina area since 2010. In 2017 we opened a secure, insured, state of the art service center. Our service center allows us to address all repair needs, from a simple cell replacement to complete overhauls of complicated mechanical timepieces. Our facility provides prompt, friendly customer service and professional repair for most watch brands. We are trained in the newest technologies and specialized tooling, which we continually update for an expanding list of watch companies. Our team of experienced Swiss-trained watchmakers are certified by the most elite programs and have received caliber specific training at Rolex, Omega, and Breitling training facilities. This ensures that your watch needs are met with the utmost standards and care. We offer very competitive turnaround times and take great pride in our low comeback percentage. Our company is fully insured with Jewelers Mutual Insurance.
Our Staff
Justin Harrell / Owner
Justin first discovered the watchmaking profession while working at his grandfather's jewelry store in east Tennessee. Seeing the opportunities available for a young watchmaker, he applied to the United State's premier watchmaking program, the Lititz Watch Technicum. After an extensive interview process, his two grueling years of traditional horological training ensued. After graduation, Justin was chosen as the Rolex technician at A.H. Riise, the Rolex retailer in the US Virgin Islands. In 2010, Justin and his wife moved to Asheville and opened The Watchmaker's Shop, llc. He has completed caliber specific training in Geneva, Switzerland at Rolex International World Headquarters and continues to follow the latest industry standards. These include the Swatch Group's OWME certificate and Breitling level 1 and 2. Certifications and affiliations include CW21 (Certified Watchmaker 21st Century), WOSTEP (Watchmakers of Switzerland Training and Educational Program), AWCI board of directors, AWCI past president.
Sergio Berrios / Certified Watchmaker
Sergio got into watchmaking in college when he started working part time at a local shop while he was attending school for Radiography. His job at the shop was to help with all the miscellaneous task which later progressed into case and band refinishing. He never really considered Watchmaking a career path but the more he was exposed to it the more he wanted to learn. After a little research he discovered this was a very specialized field requiring a high level of training. He decided to leave college and applied to the prestigious Lititz Watch technicum where he was accepted and attended two years. He graduated in 2008 with his Lititz Diploma, WOSTEP certification, and CW21 certification. In 2014 he served as an exam assessor and administrator for the CW21 certification for AWCI (American Watchmakers and Clockmakers Institute).