In the heart of Tarascon, in rue des Halles, a stop at Olivier Jonquet, a watchmaker, is a must. Established in the town of Tarascon for 3 years, Olivier Jonquet sells, repairs, advises, creates... watches and clocks. Enter the poetic and timeless universe of an enthusiast…
Michael SerraAt the heart of time in Tarascon
It's 9 a.m. Wednesday morning. Tarascon awakens gently between the smells of croissants and the scent of coffee. Rue des Halles, the nerve center of commerce and crafts in the town, is still calm. A few residents are going about their morning activities, two or three tourists are already leafing through books freely available at the book hut at place xxx. Opposite a painter and right next to a jeweler and a bulk organic products store, you will find Olivier Jonquet, a passionate watch repairer.
An ancestral know-how
“Watchmaking is poetry. The fact that a watch tells the time is almost secondary! A watch, a clock, these are objects of art which are often passed down from generation to generation. They are emotional objects. » Objects full of stories and history: watches? Don't doubt it anymore... Between a little 19th century marvel dressed in gold, the incredible mechanism of an old church clock which proudly sits opposite the entrance, a modern creation in bright colors... A thousand and one treasures can be discovered in the watchmaker's boutique. And ancestral know-how.
Michael SerraRemonter le temps
Michael SerraTo make a break
Michael SerraGet Inspired
Michael SerraOlivier Jonquet likes to share his passion. He made a promise to pass on his profession to younger people and receives watchmaking CAP trainees regularly. He teaches them the art of using the tools of the trade such as tweezers, small pliers used to straighten the hands of watches, to carry out the appropriate twists on the spirals of the mechanism, etc.
Michael Serra
Michael Serra
Michael Serra
Michael Serra
A profession of passion
Olivier Jonquet became a watchmaker late in life. After twenty years in commerce and marketing, he decided to make his passion his profession. First of all, he designed his first watch and had a prototype made. Success is immediate. He left his old job, completed a CAP in watchmaking and launched his own collection “Elie” (named after his son. In 20xxx, he decided to open his boutique-workshop. “Initially, it was to sell my collection and those of small manufacturers whose watches I like. Very quickly, people came to me to repair their watches.
The man who listened to the clocks
So, today Olivier Jonquet repairs his clients' watches, the ones they find in auction rooms. “When I manage to get an old watch or clock working again, it’s a pleasure and a sincere satisfaction. » Eyes fixed on his chrono-comparator “it’s like an electrocardiogram for watches! » he knows where the problem is. “Your watch is 26 seconds late per hour,” he explains to a customer. I can sort it out for you. » For clocks, however, no help. It's the ear that knows if time is beating too fast or too slowly, if the mechanism is stuck, seized, rusty. “You have to be a bit of a musician to be a watchmaker. It is by listening to time that we can regulate our beats. »
Michael Serra
A wonderful break in the heart of time
Watch to repair or not, watch to buy or not, don't hesitate to open the door to Olivier Jonquet's boutique. He will take the time and pleasure to share his passion with you. And to explain to you a thousand and one astonishing and incredible things about this object of art which has punctuated our lives for so long...
CONTACT US
Hic et Nunc Watchmaking
29 rue des Halles – 13200 Tarascon
06 4. 71 84 38