The Danish School of Watchmaking
Length of education and training:
- Basic course: 6 months - Main course: 3 ½ years
The theoretical education takes place at ZBC Ringsted, where students can also get full board. The education at the college is organized as interdisciplinary projects where several subjects are required to complete an assignment, e.g. a rivet bench and the production of tools.
Here skills such as measuring, marking off and cutting are practised. The same thing goes for procedures such as soldering, filing, and turning.
Current school projects:
• Wall/Floor Clock An elegant clock is made from scratch, i.e. from raw materials which require cutting, turning, surface treatment, and gold-plating. Mathematical calculations and technical drawing are involved in the construction, and so is frame working.
• Skeleton Watch A pocket watch is made into a work of art. Learn about marketing. Learn how to run a watchmaker’s shop, how to make advertisements, budgets, and shop concepts.
• Table Clock (optional) Students have to manufacture a small table clock using hand tools and a precision of 1/100 mm – by eye.
• Chronometers watch Chronometer adjustment on a mechanical chronograph. Students adjust the escapement and make finish and gold plating on brass parts. The complete watch is tested in 16 days.
The College Students have unlimited access to computers and tools in their spare time. At the end of the main course, students are tested in theoretical and practical subjects. What they have learned at ZBC is practiced and further developed during practical training in an enterprise.
Linguistic Challenges There is a lot of literature about watches and watch making – most of it in English, German, and French. It is therefore a good thing if you feel like taking up linguistic challenges, both during your education and training and in your subsequent working life when many find employment abroad.
Patience Patience, inner peace, and a comprehensive view of things are required. These are characteristics needed as a watchmaker. Such characteristics are developed during the education and training where the co-ordination between hands and sight is practiced, starting with 2-3/10 mm and ending with 1/100 mm – hand held!
Concentration A well-organized work table and big concentration. When that has been established we are ready to speed up so the watchmaker can keep the comprehensive view of the repair work and establish good contact to the customers. A watchmaker has to navigate in 3 main areas: mechanics, electronics, and customer service.
Measuring Tools Measuring tools and frequent checks ensure stability and high quality during the repair work – which is still a major part of a watchmaker’s daily

ZBC Profile
ZBC Ringsted is a medium-sized, highly versatile vocational college.
Within vocational education and training programmes (VET), ZBC Ringsted is a niche college appealing to students nationwide who aim at one of the following professions:
• Pastry chef
• Watchmaker
• Radio Dealer (sales assistant specialized in radio, TV, multimedia, music, video, software)
The college is a niche college appealing to students in the Zealand area who aim at one of the following professions:
• Data technician, IT supporter
• Radio/TV technician, electronics technician
• Baker
There are 5 different basic courses:
• Production and development (watchmaker) (recruits students nationwide, however, with a preponderance of students from Zealand.)
• Electrical installations and IT, (recruits students from most of Zealand.)
• Food and health, kitchen, and restaurants, (recruits students from most of Zealand.)
• Maintenance and repair of means of transportation (cars, airplanes, etc.) (local recruitment)
• Basic mercantile courses (retailing, customer service, and finance)( local recruitment)
A hall of residence attached to the college houses students attending the VET programmes. On a daily basis, 75-100 people lodge at the hall of residence.
Vocational Upper-Secondary Education
The college also offers vocational upper secondary education. The Higher Commercial Examination (HHX)
and the Higher Technical Examination (HTX)
HHX offers 4 specialized study programmes:
• Economics Business Class/International Business Class
• International Languages in a Multicultural World
• Marketing
• Mathematics/IT
HTX offers 3 specialized study programmes:
• Science “Heading for Mars”/Biotechnology
• Technology “The Inner Nerd of the Inventor”
• Communication “Fascinated by Originality”
The distribution of activities between VET programmes and vocational upper secondary areas is approx. 75%/25%.