Following the success of Europa Star’s ‘80th Anniversary Portraits’ column that we ran in 2007, we have decided to feature an exceptional portrait section in this issue as part of our special glamour section. The particularity about these portraits is that there isn’t a man among them. From Germany to Japan, Italy to Australia, France to the United States and the United Kingdom to Switzerland, there are some incredible women moving and shaking the watch business. Europa Star’s network of international correspondents decided to talk with some of the industry’s most talented women to find out how they have succeeded in the male dominated world of horology.

Jessica Thakur responded to an advertisement in the newspaper for a watchmaker because it sounded intriguing and to her delight went straight into an apprenticeship in Melbourne.
For the first part of her formal qualification Jessica concentrated on servicing quartz calibres subsequently working with Cartier to Piaget – Richemont brands – where she mastered trouble-shooting and assessment through to work on the more complex quartz calibres.
A year later she moved to an independent service centre, working for master watchmaker Michael Presser, a talented teacher who turned her focus to mechanical watch servicing.
Concurrently Jessica studied with Trenton Firth at the Watchmaking School of the Sydney Institute who trained her in the intricate art of hairspring manipulation, escapement diagnostics, efficiency, dynamic poising and development of an instinctive awareness of how a watch functions.
She achieved her full four year formal qualification certificates and continues today working for Michael Presser at Precision Timing.
Unusually, Jessica started her apprenticeship after studying at university followed by work in management and customer service and considers this has enhanced her success today. She believes that maturity and a well developed work ethic have been invaluable in communication with customers, to inform them about their timepieces, why they should be maintained or perhaps just explaining how they work. This allows her to share her knowledge and at the same time gain customer loyalty through a deeper appreciation of their fine, high-end watches.
Of her future Jessica observes “The watch industry is constantly changing and it is vital to keep advancing, always heeding the latest technical advances balanced with discarding old practices as they become redundant. I look forward to further development in my field and I will attend WOSTEP training in Switzerland as the opportunity arises.”
Jessica Thakur emanates the finest watchmaking ethos. She believes it is a constantly challenging exercise in creative thinking.
Here is indeed a very talented, widely qualified woman on the move. (MF)


Source: Europa Star October-November 2008 Magazine Issue