In April, 2008, Andy Tempalski of Bellevue answered a classified ad for a watch repair technician, a position that did not call so much for knowledge of timepieces as it required work experience with intricate hand tools.

"I had been using small screwdrivers for computer repairs," Andy said. And based upon skills learned with computers, he was hired by Fast-Fix, a jewelry and watch repair shop located in an area shopping mall.

It was a job, but not much of a challenge. "I changed batteries, and I changed watch bands."

That was about the extent of his work until a former watch technician at the shop, John Iarussi, started teaching Andy some of the more complex aspects of the repair profession: movement replacement, cleaning, oiling.

"I became fairly good at it," Andy said. "And I enjoyed it."

But the breakthrough came when a customer brought in a mechanical watch---one that must be wound---and thinking that he had a quartz watch, asked for a new battery.

"I opened the watch, explained the problem to the customer, telling him it did not work off a battery, and he told me to throw it away. But I kept it and a month later, I took it apart and found that it was mechanically sound. It just needed to be cleaned. It's a Juvenia 21, a 21-jewel watch, the first watch I owned and cleaned."

He spoke of another timepiece, an Omega Seamaster that he purchased from an individual who did not want to bother having it repaired. "I paid $50 for it. It is the most beautiful watch, perfectly crafted. It needed a new center wheel, and now it is the 'crown jewel' of my collection."

After the Omega experience, Andy bought a tool set and some instructional books so that he could work at home.

"I decided that I wanted to make a career of this."

Two years later, Andy has packed up his Bellevue apartment and moved to Lititz, PA where he will begin a two-year program at the Lititz Watch Technicum, one of the nation's premiere watch repair schools that offers a curriculum that combines "…centuries-old watch making techniques with the latest diagnostic applications utilizing state-of-the-art electronic equipment," as explained on the school Web site.

Andy had researched schools and was told by those in the profession that Lititz is "…the Ivy League of watch repair instruction."

His application process included interviews, 9 hours of aptitude tests and skills tests where he had to identify the problems of 8 malfunctioning timepieces.

One of only 12 applicants accepted into the program, his $10,000-per-year tuition will be funded by Rolex and will qualify him as a certified watchmaker upon completion of the course.

And although today's typical wristwatch is quartz ---battery-powered---Andy said that there has been a resurgence in the popularity of mechanical watches.

"Quartz watches almost ruined mechanicals, but recently, owners of mechanicals have developed a sort relationship with their watches. They like to be a part of the process, winding them and setting them. I love the intricacy and the self sufficiency of the mechanical watch. It is a model of human intelligence and accomplishment," Andy said.

During those decades when the heirloom Elgins, Bulovas and Hamiltons rarely were used and few people could afford the Piaget or Rolex mechanicals, many in the watchmaker profession aged into retirement, setting up a present-day shortage of qualified technicians.

Enter the new breed of repairmen typified by Andy Tempalski, who turns 26 in October.

"I like the actual work of repair," he said. "I enter a world where it's just me and the watch. It's so tranquil and slow-paced. I just can't believe that I have this opportunity."