Frank Omidi fixes pocket watches and antique clocks of every variety at Frank's Clock Repair.
Image Credit: Frank's Clock Repair
May 18, 2024 - 6:00 AM
People who repair clocks are few and far between these days, but the joy of bringing life back to something sentimental like a grandfather clock hasn’t lost its lustre.
Frank Omidi, owner and sole employee at Frank’s Clock Repair in West Kelowna, is a dental lab technician by training but fell into clock repair because he found it rewarding.
“Someone in Edmonton had a clock shop. And he was opening a store, and in the middle of the process he ran out of money. So I met him, I saw him in the mall. He couldn't complete his store. So I helped him out,” he said. “Then he paid me back and he said 'let me teach you something that may come useful for you.' So he taught me how to repair clocks.”
Omidi was 22 years old when he learned how to fix clocks, he’s 61 now and still enjoying it. He does everything from watch battery replacement to cuckoo and grandfather clock repair.
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“You ask me why I do this. Because when I restore them and I get them to go, I feel good. That is my reward, really. That is one of the reasons I do it. I like it. It is because it is very rewarding,” he said. “You know, when some of my customers come here, they say this belongs to my grandfather. I saw it working when I was a kid and it hasn’t worked since. And I make it go and they are very happy that I could do that. And I am very happy that I could do it.”
Omidi said the shop is still busy, but he's a single father with plans to retire soon, and no one is prepared to take the clock repair reins.
“No one wants to learn this. You know, the new generation is not interested. I have three boys, they are not interested,” he said. “Kids are sitting in front of laptops, computers and games. So they are not out there being trained, you know. They are becoming socially lazy, I would say. So maybe that's why. Otherwise, it is good for someone who likes it to learn it and do it.”
Mass-production and disposability are slowly eliminating consumers’ unique choices.
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“You go to Costco, for example, and you have certain choices. Everyone grabs this and everyone grabs that. The varieties are becoming mechanical. They are taking the spirit out of the system. It is becoming just business,” Omidi said.
When it comes to antique clocks, they all have something special and unique to offer.
“Clocks that are handmade... each one of them has its own character, so, they are all interesting.”
Click here to check out the Frank’s Clock Repair website.
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