(quiet bell music) (clock quietly ticking) - The ticking sound is not, it doesn't bother me.

I know some people have an issue with it, but no, I don't get tired of it.

The only time I really even notice it is if something is wrong.

The ticking should be a nice, even tick tock, tick tock.

And if it goes wrong, if the the beat gets off, that's something to go look for.

Patience, patience is one of the key things you need to have to work on this stuff.

I am Paul Fournier, and I repair modern and mostly antique clocks for a living.

Sales are not great.

People don't come in looking to buy clocks, but there are a lot of people looking to have clocks repaired.

Repair price is often more than a resale price.

You know, people will say, well, is it worth it for me to get my clock fixed?

And, you know, I can't tell you.

I can tell you what it'll cost.

You have to tell me if it's worth it to you to have it fixed.

And so that's based on nostalgia and on, you know, family history and their feelings toward the piece.

And you know, with that said, I've got two and a half to three years worth of backlog of clocks to get through.

Sound is very evocative of memories of things.

And I'll get a clock going that hasn't run for generations, you know, so haven't seen this run since I was a little child.

We've had some, you know, get quite emotional when they hear that clock strike again after they haven't heard it for 40, 50, 60 years.

(clock chiming) The goal is to retire and stop working on clocks, at least commercially.

I have plenty of my own that I would like to get running, but yeah, I'd like to stop working and retire and have some free time.

So definitely would like to move on.

The big issue is having someone to pass on the knowledge to so that people are available to continue working on clocks for others and future generations.

(gentle music)