Jerry Faier

Jerry Faier, CMC21/AWCI; FAWCI Jerry started The Clock Makers in 1978 as a clock and watch restoration/fabrication service that seemed to be missing in the Mid-West. By adding consumer education as a major component, the business grew quickly. After working with a number and variety of craftsmen to learn as many facets of the trade as possible, Jerry turned his efforts towards developing a staff to help with all the work. Jerry earned AWI’s CMC title in 1982. By 1983, when the shop became mostly retail, he began building a staff to help with the load. Teaching apprentices and case finish workers and having them certify helped build the quality of the business and increased the complexity and diversity of the work received. The staff totaled 9 people: 4-benchmen, 2-artists (dials and case finish work), 1-cabinet maker for cabinet repair and restoration, 2-receptionists (they would alternate days). All this talent was trained by Jerry keyed to our horological products and led to the development of the “Apprentice Notebook of Outlines for Training”). In 2001, he moved to Glendale, AZ where he continues to run his business but this time solo with his wife, Susan, as the case finisher and receptionist. Even after suffering a short struggle with cancer, he came back and is still active with bench work, both repair and restorative, and continues to teach professional subjects about a variety of horological subjects all over the United States. For his work with the education programs of AWCI, he was honored with the organization’s highest award: the AWCI Fellow. A certified educator (B.S.in ED, UNL), Jerry has taught a variety of classes for AWCI for many years. Included is an escapement course (which was taught all over the USA), as well as other courses in basic clock skills such as escapement adjusting, metallurgy, bushing practices, burnishing and burnishers, electric clock repair, clock restoration practices, floor clock set-ups and house calls, business, etc., etc. He has also published many articles on clock repair, escapement work, clockmaker education, Atmos clock work and business success discussions as well. He continues all this work today and tries to help those who wish to make themselves better professionals in our skilled trade.