Daily AncestorWatchmaker
A watchmaker made and repaired watches; by the late 1800s most were repairers, and census takers were asked to tell makers from repairers.
Watchmakers were originally master craftsmen who built watches, including all their parts, by hand. As factory-made watches spread, more of them repaired and serviced watches made elsewhere. The clockmaker was the matching trade for clocks.
The 1900 census instructions told enumerators to distinguish a clock or watch maker from a clock or watch repairer, and not to call workers who made watches in large factories jewelers.
As seen in a recordOccupation column of the 1850 to 1900 census
Jules Perret, 48, Watchmaker, Switzerland
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Daily Ancestor. "Watchmaker." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/occupations/watchmaker. Last checked 2026-10-10.