The Cement That Holds It All Together: Inside The Watch Specialist's Clinic

Three generations of Swiss-trained watchmakers. A two-year warranty that most independent service centres won't touch. And a General Manager who went from running professional kitchens to stripping Patek Philippe movements.

This is the story of The Watch Specialist's Clinic in Serangoon Gardens, told by the person who keeps everything running: Huan Ni.

From Professional Kitchens to Watch Workshops

Huan spent a decade in the F&B industry as a chef. Long hours, high pressure, extreme precision. It was the life she knew.

Then the stars aligned, as she puts it. She was pregnant. Standing 12 hours a day in a kitchen was no longer sustainable. And COVID had reshuffled everything.

Her husband Gabriel Quek is a second-generation Swiss-trained watchmaker at The Watch Specialist's Clinic, a family business started by his father Willie Quek in 2012. Huan saw an opening. "I joined thinking I'm just going to do some paperwork, some admin. Sit down 9 to 5. Easy stuff," she says.

"I was wrong."

She'd wanted to be a housewife. A boss's wife, specifically. "That's different," she laughs. But sitting still wasn't in her nature. Within months, she'd started watching the team work and noticed something. The watchmakers needed to concentrate for three hours straight, sometimes longer, without interruption. They couldn't be pulled away to answer messages, chase parts, or handle walk-in customers.

"I could sense the stress in the entire servicing process," she says. "They cannot be disturbed and they try not to be disturbed. They have to have their 100% just looking at the watch."

So she stepped up. And then she kept stepping up.

The Cement

Today, Huan's title is General Manager. But the word she uses to describe herself is simpler: cement.

"I fill in any gaps that's needed," she says. "The watchmakers are the middle. They work on the mechanics. I am at the front and the back."

Her day starts with coffee. A hot latte, no sugar, made in-house. "We drink so much coffee here, we have to make our own," she says. Then she moves to messages and emails. After that, project management: checking in on each watchmaker, making sure they're on track, flagging anything that needs parts.

And then she gets to work on the watches themselves.

Huan strips every watch that comes in. She inspects the exterior, identifies what needs attention, and starts ordering parts. When the watchmakers are done with the movement, the watch comes back to her for polishing, case washing, and final assembly. She's the first person to touch your watch, and the last.

The transferable skills from F&B surprised her. "The attention to detail in watchmaking and in F&B is equivalent," she says. "It takes a certain amount of craziness to be this meticulous."

Six years in, she's still learning. "I'm constantly learning every day and improving. Just doing our best, both skills-wise and running the business at the same time."

What Actually Happens to Your Watch

The clinic specialises in Swiss movement watches: Rolex, Patek Philippe, Omega, and similar. Everyone on the team trained in Switzerland. That's why they stick to Swiss movements. The parts supply chain is reliable, and the training matches.

Can they work on Japanese or Russian movements? Yes. But the problem always comes down to parts. "If there's something that needs to be replaced, if we can't get it, your watch never works," Huan says. So they're upfront about what they will and won't take on.

Every watch that comes in goes through a full overhaul. Completely stripped inside and out. Calibrated to COSC standards. Reassembled with original parts only. No exceptions on the parts.

"Aftermarket parts don't last or they don't fit as well," Huan says. "It defeats the purpose."

One of the most common questions she gets is why a full service is necessary when only one part seems broken. She's patient with it. "Everything else is already dry. The lubricants are dry. You're just putting more stress on the movement. You're doing more harm than good just replacing the part."

She uses an analogy that sticks. "It's just like your car. It runs on gears and oils. If you don't service your car, your car spoils. A watch is no different."

The misconception isn't the customer's fault, she adds. "This watch business, watch servicing, is so niche. There's not a lot of information out there. Even I try to look online to learn a thing or two. If you don't look, you will never understand what goes behind a watch."

The Two-Year Promise

The clinic offers a two-year warranty on all completed work. For an independent service centre in Singapore, that's rare. Huan believes they may be the only one doing it.

The standard started with her father-in-law, Willie Quek. Before opening the clinic, he'd spent decades at the big brands and carried that standard with him. The logic is simple: if you do the job right, check every part, use only original components, then you can stand behind the work.

"We put in so much effort," Huan says. "And to justify the work, I mean, honestly, we're not cheap. But at the same time, our margin is really low. Because we take a lot of time when it comes to one watch."

The warranty isn't just about customer confidence. It's a quality control mechanism. Every watch that comes back under warranty costs the clinic time and money. The incentive is to get it right the first time. "We try to minimise as many watches that come back for warranty," Huan says. "So if we do the job well the first round, the warranty is just for both parties."

And if something does go wrong? "It's all human labour. There will be human error here and there. And the warranty gives us an opportunity to work on it."

The Million-Dollar Patek

The most memorable watch that ever came through the clinic's doors was a Patek Philippe Grand Complication. A minute repeater with a perpetual calendar. The customer had paid over a million dollars for it.

Willie Quek took the job himself. He worked nearly 20 hours a day for a full week. The entire team was anxious.

"It was the most expensive watch that ever came through our doors," Huan says. "Everybody was anxious because, if anything goes wrong, you know."

For a watch like that, the stakes couldn't be higher. And the result showed. After servicing and calibration, the gongs of the minute repeater, which had sounded dull before, became vibrant again. Huan describes it simply: "It was incredible. For a watch to make sounds, it's incredible on its own already."

Did the customer come back happy?

"Unfortunately, I wasn't there to see his face," she says. "But it didn't come back. So I assume it's working well."

After a week like that, Willie took a break. A full week off. He'd earned it.

The Weight of Other People's Watches

Running an independent service centre means holding things that can't always be replaced. Not just financially, but sentimentally. Huan understands this deeply.

"We don't look at watches based on the value, like monetary value," she says. "We treat every watch with respect. There is sentimental value that has got no monetary. You cannot put a number to sentimental value. So every watch is important here. It could mean so much to different people."

Her biggest personal worry is always external damage. Internal movements can usually be repaired. Parts can be fabricated or sourced. But the outside of a watch, the case, the dial, the bezel, is a different story.

"If there's anything external, you have no choice but to go back to the agents," she says. "And it's static. You look at it and you know something's wrong."

A scratch on a case. A chip on a dial. These things are immediately visible, immediately felt. And in many cases, only the original manufacturer can make it right.

But the clinic also does restoration work, and this is where Huan comes alive. She handles dial restoration herself, mixing and colour-matching paint to repair lume and finishes on vintage dials. It's painstaking work, matching the patina of an aged dial so the repair blends seamlessly.

"It's a lot of me mixing and colour matching and making sure that it matches the patina at the same time," she says. For someone who got into art long before watches, this is where the two worlds meet. "All the painting and restoration, the before and after, that tickles my bones."

When Things Go Wrong

Things can and do go wrong. Even with the most skilled hands. Huan doesn't shy away from this.

"We have to be honest and we have to be upfront about it," she says. "But at the same time, we have to offer solutions. Most importantly, we have to offer the solution."

The clinic's approach is direct: acknowledge the mistake, present a fix, and absorb the loss if needed. "In business, there will be losses, definitely. You suck it up, learn from it, and get the job done."

"Once we take in a watch, it's a promise that we'll finish it. Otherwise, we will turn it away. We won't even take in the watch. But once we take it in, we have to make sure we finish it."

That kind of accountability is what builds trust that lasts decades. It also speaks to something broader about running any business in this trade. Whether you're a service centre, a watch dealer, or a jeweller, you're always one bad day away from an expensive problem. What matters is how you handle it, and whether you've got the right structures in place before it happens.

The Satisfaction

We asked Huan what the most satisfying moment is in the whole process, from when a watch arrives to when the customer collects it.

Her answer was unexpected.

"You know when at night you doom scroll and you watch those before-and-after cement cleaning videos?" she says. "That's how I feel every time when I work on a watch. Or like mukbang, when you see someone clean off the entire plate of food."

The reality is less glamorous than it sounds. "Honestly, we get grossed out most of the time," she admits. Years of accumulated dirt, grime, skin oils. But the transformation is real. Even without polishing, a thorough cleaning can make a watch look completely different.

And when customers collect? Huan remembers most of them from their first visit. She knows their watch, knows what went into the work. "The first impression always comes in and they say, wow, my watch is so clean. Or, wow, my watch is so shiny. And it gives them that kind of satisfaction."

But her real message to every customer at collection is always the same.

"The reason why you fix it is to wear it. Don't waste it. Life is short. Enjoy your watch."

"And if anything goes wrong within these two years, I'm here to help you. So don't worry. Just wear your watch."

Working With Family

The Watch Specialist's Clinic is, at its core, a family operation. Huan works alongside her husband Gabriel, her father-in-law Willie, and a small team that feels more like an extended household than a company.

Working this closely with family has been one of the most unexpected lessons of joining the business. "It builds character," Huan says. "Patience. And not to bring work home. That's very important."

She and Gabriel see each other nearly 24 hours a day. They're coworkers by morning and parents by evening. "I can't be angry 24 hours," she says, laughing.

Communication, she's learned, is harder than it sounds. "Everybody says you learn how to communicate. But honestly, when we have words that we want to articulate, it goes through the head and comes out very differently. So it takes an extra two minutes to try and understand what the other party is saying before you get angry or you lose your patience."

Beyond the skills, beyond running a business, working with family has made her a better person, she says. "You can't say, I fire you. You have to deal with it."

When we asked her what the clinic means to the family beyond just a business, she paused for a long time. "I guess now that we all moved out, it's probably some place that we can sort of see each other once in a while. I mean, once in a while as in like eight hours."

"Everybody gets paid. Everybody gets comfortable. We are all happy. Lunch is provided." She says that last part like it matters. Coming from a chef, it probably does.

Women in Watchmaking

Huan is one of three women on the team. In an industry still heavily dominated by men, she doesn't take that lightly.

"I'm very pro woman," she says. "I'm hoping there are more women watchmakers, honestly. Because women do things better."

She's working towards her own Swiss certification this year. Her advice to women considering the watchmaking trade is two words: "Just do it."

"In every industry, you need both men and women," she says. "And to keep the men in place sometimes, you know. Don't be too complacent."

Her hope is a practical one. That dealers and service centres see women in these roles and realise it's normal. "It's okay to hire girls, females," she says. "Then they will know that there are women watchmakers out there."

What's Next

When we asked Huan what's next for the clinic, her answer was practical. Tools and equipment upgrades. Maybe hiring another certified watchmaker. And her own Swiss certification, hopefully this year.

But she hasn't over-planned it. Day-to-day operations are hectic enough. "I haven't really thought about that because day-to-day wise, it's been so hectic. I'm just very happy everybody's enjoying what they do. Everything else will fall into place eventually, I think."

Looking back, the one thing she wishes she'd done differently was simple: start earlier. "I never knew I'd enjoy this as much as I did. Maybe we should have started earlier. But it's never too late."

Quick Answers From Huan

One tool you couldn't live without in the clinic?

"Screwdriver. Without it, we can't even take the movement out. A lot of things just stop."

How do you like your coffee?

"Hot latte, no sugar. Made in-house. We drink so much coffee here, we have to make our own."

What would you tell yourself on your first day at the clinic?

"You're never going to be a housewife. Just continue to work."

What was the learning curve like?

"Extremely steep. But there are many transferable skills from F&B. The attention to detail is equivalent. Maybe the few of us who work here, we are very particular. We try to do a little bit more than 100%."

What surprised you most about joining the clinic?

"Having to work so much. I thought I could take a break. I wanted to be a housewife. I was wrong."

Do people feel intimidated walking in?

"A lot of people tell me they feel intimidated to even walk into our store. But it gives them a different feeling once they step through the door. Because we're just friendly. We welcome everybody."

What's the hardest part of the job that people don't see?

"Everything is difficult. There is a misconception that watch servicing or repair is really easy. It doesn't work that way. A lot of things are irreversible. Once you go, you can never turn back time and fix that anymore. So you must learn how to stop."

Any message for people who've just collected their serviced watch?

"The reason why you fix it is to wear it. Don't waste it. Life is short. Enjoy your watch."

MINT Conclusion

Conversations like this remind you how much trust, skill, and quiet accountability goes into the watch trade in Singapore. Every watch that passes through a dealer's display or a service centre's bench carries real risk, and the people behind these businesses feel that weight daily.

Whether you're a dealer managing inventory under consignment, a service centre holding a client's Patek, or a collector wearing a six-figure watch on your wrist, having the right protection in place isn't optional. It's how you stay in business and sleep at night.

MINT provides specialist insurance for Singapore's luxury watch ecosystem, from Jeweller's Block coverage that protects dealer inventory to collector policies designed for how watches are actually owned and moved.

Find out how MINT protects watch businesses

Visit The Watch Specialist's Clinic at 6A Maju Avenue, Singapore 556684. Open Tuesday to Saturday, 10:30am to 6:00pm. Instagram: @thewatchspecialistsclinic

This article is based on a conversation between MINT and The Watch Specialist's Clinic conducted in March 2026. Business details, services, and availability may change. Contact the clinic directly for current information.