Background...
I studied at Stellenbosch University where I rented a room from Fanie du Bruin and his wife, Katy. Fanie repaired watches as a hobby and he perked my interest to such an extent that I took up the hobby as well.
As a young history teacher in Aberdeen I had to supervise the senior school hostel kids while they were studying. To help pass the time during those long tedious hours, I practised my hobby and the kids found out that I could repair watches and clocks.
As a joke one of the senior boys put up a poster in a tree on the pavement to "advertise my skills". I saw it in the morning on my way to school, but decided to leave it to give the kids a sense of achievement (catching out the young new teacher). This turned out to make me famous locally! Soon enough the local townspeople brought me all their old watches and clocks to fix.
When digital watches became popular, my interest waned because you could buy a digital watch for cheaper than it would cost to fix an old mechanical watch.
After many years when mechanical watches became popular again, I had no tools left and for this reason did not take up the hobby again.
In 1996 I retired and we moved to Heidelberg WC. I bought all the necessary tools, took up my old hobby and started repairing the locals' timepieces again.
I soon had to move to a little building in Van Riebeeck Street and in September 2017 to The Heidelberg Information Centre and then a year later to 9 Eksteen Street.
During the Corona outbreak I realised the joy of being home with my wife during the day and I have now moved to 55 Van Riebeeck Street. If the "Tik-Tok"-bell is on the front gate, the shop is open, else it's closed unless you've arranged it with me beforehand.
I sell straps, batteries, various parts and watches, and I maintain various Dutch Reformed Church clocks in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape.
It gives me a sense of achievement when visitors from other towns and provinces bring their clocks and watches for repairs and then thank me for fixing their watches/clocks that they were told could not be fixed.
So now, without further ado, please visit the rest of my site and see what I've got in store for you...
Nico TikTok
