I started learning watchmaking since I finished my high school studies and with the proper guidance of my father who is my mentor and a full pledged watchmaker I learned the
THEY DON'T WANT MY NAME "ISRAEL"
While studying on my own time at home I continue practicing the skill of watch repairing until in 1977 I decided to test my skill, so from my hometown Daet, Camarines Norte I went to Manila and work as watch technician at Seiko Service Center and then Philippine Watch Service Center until up to 1982 working at Sandoz, Tituz, Bulova Watch service Center. Then in 1983 I decided to open my own service center for I feel that my heart is no longer contented working with an employer. During this time I was already thinking about making some electronic devices to speed up my work. I spent few years in my own service shop then there was this unforgettable experience when a Saudi national arrived in Manila and looking for watch technicians to work for him in the middle east. Through a friend who is also a watch technician I learned the news and obviously we applied for the job. I was very qualified when they conducted the test in actual, dismantling and reassemble of Seiko 4206 and a quartz movement that I forgot the caliber number. I said I'm very qualified because when I dismantle and reassemble the 2 movements it took only few minutes for me to finish the job and that caught the attention of the employer. But they noticed also my name "israel" so they ask "can you change your name?" I was shocked by hearing that and I remember I had a bad feeling that if in the first place they questioned my name (maybe because this 2 countries are mortal enemies to each other) what more if I work there I might suffer consequences because of my religion also. So out of my own fear for my life and everything I decided not to push through my application. It's pity (they said) because most of my friends flew for the job only after few months of preparation and I was left behind thinking that someday they're gonna enjoy the taste of good life with nice job and nice dollar income(that's the fever during that time).
TO AMUSE MYSELF I MADE MY FIRST 5 UNITS OF MY INVENTIONS
I was not so bothered actually thinking my friends in Saudi will soon be sending dollars to their family instead I considered it a great challenge for me. While myself combating the boredom moments with lower salary income here, it just came into my mind that why not I concentrate and stick to my long time plan- the making of my own instrument used in watch repairing. After all I had already so much knowledge in making diagrams and then making it to an operating device for any electronic project I want. At the same time there was this strange feeling that keeps on bothering me to make the big start of changing the old method of majority of local watchmakers here in the country. One is the method of changing battery in all quartz watches without doing the proper and standard electrical tests before handling it back to customer. And doing the electrical tests needs the use of compatible test instruments. These I would want to build and sell it locally. Who knows maybe through this inventions I might as well become as good as if I went abroad too for the income it might contribute to my earnings. So having in mind also that the device I want to build has a very expensive counterpart in Swiss made and that also makes my adrenaline stays high. It was in 1989 when I successfully introduced to the public my first 5 units, a watch analyzer and battery tester. But before that I remember I had so many experiments and tests that I conducted and even first used the unit in my watch repairing business. The first impression of the public after they first saw the tester amazed them makes me more eager to continue making it.
I made my first 5 units of my tester and called it Le Arsi Tester Col 118. The Nepomuceno Enterprises a watch parts and tools supply in Sta. Cruz, Manila was the first store that I introduced my tester. Expecting that there are plenty of watchmakers there I hurriedly went there and started to introduce my inventions. It was the first time for this local watchmakers that have seen a watch tester that uses only one LED to light up in pattern to indicate bad and good quartz watches. Many are amazed and my first 5 units were sold quickly of course at a minimum cost. But critics are always there, one watchmaker commented " you've just discovered a gold mine why are you giving it away?" What he means is that If I made the tester I am the only one who can offer it to the public for my own watch repairing shop and nobody can compete me, why sell to fellow watchmakers? But first and foremost I was prepared already to disseminate this technology to every watchmakers because of the low standard and quality of the industry in the country caused by lack of training and instrumentation, knowledge in electronic watches and poverty. Later on that man bought my Le Arsi Tester for his watch repair shop.
MORE INNOVATIONS CAME AND ORGANIZATION WAS ESTABLISHED
Then history came to start instantly, because of the acceptance shown by my fellow watchmakers I planned to make some more units. Then the Le Arsi R1616 follows, this is a watch tester that uses sound to indicate good and bad quartz watches. Followed by Le Arsi Quartz Quick Test Apoc 72 that could detect good and bad quartz watches even without opening the watch case. The introduction of my tester with sound simulation became the most preferred one by many because of convenient trouble shooting technique using their ears while their eyes busy looking for the tiny parts. Many watchmakers minimized accidental damages to watches because of this combination.
Because of the exposure of my tester a lot of watchmakers began to learn and hear the name Le Arsi. That's my name Israel in reversed. After a considerable number of tester that was sold somebody in my staff suggested that why not conduct a seminar? So in 1991, I conducted the first watchmakers seminar in Manila about effective quartz watch repairing. The first seminar for local watchmakers ever held publicly and there are overwhelming responses in the part of the watchmakers. I can tell by their eyes the eagerness to learn and everybody is happy during that time. Before the seminar was completed during the open forum, somebody suggested why don't we establish an organization? Everybody agreed then we have an instant quorum for the assembly. So, on that very moment the officials were elected to run the organization and of course I was elected as the president. And so TWFPI (The Watchmakers Foundation of the Philippines) was born. More seminars were held nationwide and during this time the ETA SA Fabrique d'Ebauches one of the biggest watch movement producer in the world recognized our group. They sent us training materials, technical communications and movements of popular Swiss calibers including chronographs and quartz watches.
It's good to recall what happened there especially when I delivered my first speech in front of so many local watchmakers. And I'm very thankful to Tommy Go of Gobson Commercial who lend to me the book of Henry Fried's Repairing Quartz Watches. From the Fried's book and other horological books I gathered all the best method in repairing quartz watches and shared all of this in the seminar together with my invented instruments. This lead me also to established my training center to which I accept enrolees to learn watch repairing course and many had enrolled since then. Some of my friends who went abroad learn the news and commented that even though I was not lucky to work abroad it serves as blessing in disguise. Many young and old watchmakers benefited from my teachings and my inventions knowing also that I was the first to introduced this kind of technology in the country. Later on the TESDA (Technical Education and Skills Development) a government agency seek the help from me in developing the curriculum in watch repair technician and it was successfully done in year 2000 with the help of some of my students.
This is my Le Arsi Quartz Watch Analyzer R1616B. Features supply voltages for watches, tests current consumption for watch IC and motor, with audio, (QMD) quartz motor drive-used to free wheel the gear train through motor (square wave) driving and battery test. The QMD has the speed selector switch to drive the hands of the watch 20hz or 32hz meaning you can feed a square waves signal to the motor by touching its terminal pads through the tester's probes and make the gear of the watch rotate at (20hz) or faster(32hz). Best in trouble shooting chronograph quartz watches with many step motors. The tester can indicate if the quartz watch is in normal or abnormal condition thus knowing the life of the battery if it will last longer or shorter once installed in the watch. And that is through the sound of the tester (as third hand), even without looking at the tester you can detect trouble, the louder the sound the more defective the circuit is. A very effective way of knowing the condition of the watch.
TWFPI COLLABORATED WITH THE ETA TO CONDUCT SEMINARS HERE IN THE PHILIPPINES
In 1995 and 1999, the ETA SA FABRIQUE D'EBAUCHES in the person of Mr. Remy Waelchli conducted seminars here in several places in the Philippines (Manila, Naga City, Tacloban City, Davao City, Tagaytay City, and Isabela Cagayan). These are the results of many years of continuous collaboration between TWFPI and ETA about updating technology for the Filipino watchmakers headed by me. It was the first time in the history of the Philippine watchmaking that a Filipino became co- signature of the Swiss teacher in the issuance of certificates for the participants because Mr Angeles translated broader and difficult technical discussions done by the Swiss teacher for the local watchmakers. Sometimes during the seminar Mr Waelchli after I translated in Filipino language what he just discussed he will comment "Even I don't understand your language I know you have said it right". The Swiss teacher even used my own inventions in the seminar making the topic more understandable.
This pictures were taken during the seminar in Tagaytay City in 1999. You will notice that we were all in ETA t-shirts and the ETA man Mr Remy Waelchli is not, I'm at his right. They were all my students and some are now working in abroad, some opened their own businesses here in the Philippines.
Mr Waelchli updated our members in autoquartz and chronograph watches using the calibers ETA 205.911 and ETA 7750
Sometimes during actual dismantling and reassembly he would take a sit and show them how to do it while I took pictures. I assisted him doing this task also throughout the seminar until all the participants completed the agenda.
Here, Mr Waelchli explained how autoquartz movement reacted to my tester Apoc 72. He placed the watch on top of the tester and shaked it, everybody heard the micro generator's charging.
Here you can see that I'm conducting a seminar on quartz watch repairing back in 1993 to some bicolanos watchmakers held at Naga City. Notice the white paper board clipped at the background with several topics drawn by me. I have discussed it one by one and introduced the use of my inventions in trouble shooting quartz watch. I made a presentation that very much caught their attention- I made an ETA poster 955.112 quartz circuit alive by implanting working quartz circuit in the picture and have shown them what it looks like when using my inventions. The picture becomes alive and working as a watch.
After the seminar we established also the organization here in Bicol Region. Also after few years from that special occasion many watchmakers visited my office in Manila and shown appreciation for what I have done for them. They have changed their way of giving services to the people. With the help of my inventions and the seminar they have gained the respect of their customers.
The government had also given me the chance to expose my inventions by exhibiting it to the annual technology fair held in July 19 to 23, 1993. I also would like to thank the officers, friends and my students from TWFPI who helped me to acomplished this undertakings. With me is a watchmaker from Mindanao Mr. Alejandro Catalan
Here in the booth provided for me by the organizer I explained to the visitors mostly students the method of diagnosing a defective quartz watch using my inventions. It was a 5-day exhibit and I heard that the fair reached a number of 4,000 visitors.
This is my Le Arsi Quartz Watch Quick Test Apoc 72. It can detect troubles of watches even without opening the back case. Just place the watch on top of the marker. A good watch has solid impulses and not distorted which is bad. If no impulses the watch is dead. Probably a defective IC or open coil but make sure the battery installed in the watch is still good because weak battery gives the same reaction of no impulses.
You can also hear whether the kinetic is charging the capacitor or not. Just shake the watch together with the tester and you can hear it.
LE ARSI HOROLOGICAL TRAINING CENTER
This was the name I used on my training center. After my name exploded in watch repair industry in the country, one day there was an old man who approached me and started arguing me on everything about my teachings. Lately, I learned that he's a watchmaker who have just retired. He was intrigue about what is this le arsi tester? Who is this le arsi -the horologist? He confronted me that I should not use the name horologist. I must have accomplished something before claiming I'm a horologist. I asked him politely that what kind of accomplishment? Are these instruments that I made not enough for me to be called as horologist? What kind of course do you teach here? asked by the old man. Well, I answered with pride that I was just the first Filipino who made the complete curriculum for watch repair technician for TESDA (a technology research center of the government). So to make the story short maybe he's only trying to argue me with many people around and wanted to put me in shame and to prove that he's older than me and that he's most experienced watchmaker than me. But whenever he attacked me with questions there is always a shocking answer. Like what he said to me " You should have made your own watch movement to claim your title." I answered him in a straight forward and full of confidence "Yes, I have made my own timepiece, a 3-feet diameter giant clock." It's mechanical movement including the master control was exclusively designed by me intended for tower clock installation in the future. That was in 2002 when I was experimenting the prototype of my first giant clock assembly. But today 2009, I have established already the first tower clockmaking business in the country and installed already many tower clocks in different part of the Philippines. The old man left suddenly with no more words uttered, leaving us with some of my students and fellow watchmakers looking to each other and I asked "what happened?" One of my student replied "ewan ko Sir, bigla na lang umalis, galit." Since then I never saw the old man again. But I'm sure I have opened his mind in this modern era of horology-the quartz watch servicing because most of the old watchmakers including him are often called traditional watchmakers, they mostly repair mechanical winding and automatic watches only and they hate electronic watches and clocks.
Following the big exposure that happened to me was being the recepient as one of Top Inventor of the Year 2003 award held at the Cultural Center of the Philippines in Dec. 30, 2003. I'm seen here 2nd to the right while holding my trophy. To my left is Tiya Dely of DZRH. Manny Pacquiao our great boxer was supposed to be with this significant event as a sportsman of the year but he did not make it to come.
Another instrument that I made- the Le Arsi Watch Tester with Variable Power Supply. I made this adaptor so that the ordinary multimeter available in the market could be used in watch repair. Using only the multimeter not intended for watchmaking is not compatible or incomplete and could damage also the quartz watch circuit because of uncontrolled voltages coming from the multimeter. With the adaptor installed all the voltages needed in watchmaking could now be available following the international standard of electrical tests for quartz watches.
This is my latest invention the Le Arsi Quartz watch Analyzer and Battery Tester 1189-INC86. It's the first device I made that uses computer IC that I programmed myself. It has an array of LEDs arranged in an ascending position and is color coded. LED's 2,3 and 4 are green that indicate good condition for the quartz watch and LED's 5 to 8 are red and that indicate bad condition. It has also two different beep tones. Single beep tone means good for the watch and double beep tones means bad. Also with adjustable power supply to test all necessary voltages needed in performing electrical tests for quartz watches.
Please see this video on how to use my 1189-INC86 watch analyzer and Quick Test Apoc 72.
