As fast fashion and easy-to-replace gadgets take over our lives, something unexpected is happening inside Kochi’s smallest shop fronts. Repairers say they are now seeing more young faces — teenagers and people in their early twenties — coming in with watches that have stories behind them.
Instead of throwing an old piece away, they want it repaired and given a second life. It’s a small but telling shift back to valuing things that last.
Ambika P R, who runs Nice Watch and Services near Shastri Nagar in Maradu with her husband Ramesh C M, says the shift is unmistakable.
“The younger generation is much into this trend of using and reusing vintage products,” she says.
Students and young professionals often walk in with their parents’ Titan pieces or inherited mechanical watches, wanting them to be brought back to life.
At the 80-year-old Gejo Watch Centre on Sahodaran Ayyappan Road, Ravipuram, the story is more layered. The shop, established in 1945, has seen the industry evolve.
“We are old people. Customers these days are fewer than in our prime,” says George C V, the shop owner.
Smartwatches, he explains, have encouraged a use-and-discard attitude. But those who come in usually do so for deep personal reasons.
“One boy wanted his watch repaired because it was a core memory — he got it as a gift after clearing SSLC,” George recalls. “That sentiment keeps this trade going.”
Meanwhile, at Sruthy Times, Panampilly Nagar, owner Shaji K D takes a more cautious view. He says repairing old watches is not always practical.
“If the inside is broken, the parts must be fully replaced, and even then, we can’t guarantee perfect functioning,” he explains.
Still, he remains committed to servicing the older styles — analogue, winding and automatic watches — insisting that “the newer smart ones are basically unrepairable.”
Yet, even he admits that emotional value often wins. “People bring their grandparents’ watches or clocks, some almost 85 years old, just to preserve the vintage charm,” he says.
At Ganesh and Sons Watch & Old Clock Repair, Chittoor Road, Valanjambalam, Ramesh T G highlights the biggest hurdle: spare parts.
“The motive is to keep something meaningful alive in a world where such pieces are becoming rare,” he says. “But getting original parts is difficult.”
He notes that younger customers increasingly request specific strap colours or metal finishes to suit their personal style — another sign of vintage aesthetics finding relevance.
And it’s not just heirlooms from decades past. Some young customers are taking charge of preserving their own family possessions. Take Angel Saju, a college student from Thevara, who still uses her mother’s 20-year-old Swiss watch. She brings it in regularly for battery replacements and servicing.
“It still works perfectly, and it feels special to use something my mother wore every day,” she says.
For her, maintaining it is not a chore. It’s a connection.
Across Kochi, the revival is quiet but noticeable. Motivated by nostalgia, sustainability, aesthetic reasons or the desire to preserve family heirlooms, young customers are giving watch repairers something they haven’t felt in years: the sense that their craft still matters.