— Tickwright
How we came to be on Lebuh Pantai
Tickwright opened its door on Lebuh Pantai in 2009, in the same building where the founder, Lim Choon Seng, had spent three years apprenticing under a retired Swiss-trained horologist who had settled in George Town in the 1970s. The transition from apprentice to proprietor was not a dramatic one — the tools stayed on the same bench, the daylight came through the same north-facing window, and the pace of the work did not change.
The name came from a conversation about what a watchmaker actually does versus what people expect. A wright is someone who makes or repairs things with care and skill — a wheelwright, a shipwright, a millwright. Ticking things fixed properly. That description still fits the work we do.
Over the years Tickwright has settled into three lines of work that reflect what the owners of watches in Penang actually need: quartz and battery care done properly rather than rushed, vintage automatic rebuilds for pieces that deserve a full service rather than a temporary fix, and a custodianship programme for collectors who want their pieces managed across the year rather than dealt with in a single stressful visit.
We have no interest in being the largest repair shop on the island. We are interested in being the one where the work gets done right and the customer receives a piece of paper that explains what happened to their watch.
Founded
2009
George Town, Penang
Services
3
Defined, clearly scoped service lines
Approach
Written records on every job. No work beyond scope without your agreement.
— The People
Who you are dealing with
Lim Choon Seng
Founder & Principal Watchmaker
Sixteen years on the bench across apprenticeship and proprietorship. Specialises in Swiss and Japanese automatic calibres from the mid-twentieth century.
Rajan Haridas
Senior Technician — Quartz & Modern Movements
Handles quartz battery and module care, including solar and kinetic models. Methodical about pressure testing and seal documentation.
Nadia Fadzilah
Collection Records & Client Liaison
Manages the custodianship programme records, photographic inventories, and all client correspondence. Ensures every watch leaves with complete documentation.
— Standards
How we work at the bench
Inspection under magnification
No movement is touched before it has been examined under a loupe or bench microscope. Visible faults are recorded in writing before any disassembly begins.
Pressure and water-resistance testing
Every case that is opened for quartz work is resealed with a fresh gasket and pressure-tested before it leaves the bench. The result is noted in the service record.
Amplitude logging for automatics
After a vintage rebuild, amplitude is logged at full wind and again at low reserve. The piece does not leave until readings are within acceptable range and stable.
Written service record with every job
Parts used, work performed, readings taken, and any observations noted — all returned to you in a service sheet you can keep with the watch.
Appropriate tools for the calibre
We do not force proprietary movements with improvised tools. If a calibre requires equipment we do not carry, we say so before accepting the piece.
Client information kept private
Custodianship programme records — including inventory photographs and serial data — are stored offline and shared only with the owner of the collection.
— What We Stand For
Watch servicing as a considered trade
The craft of watch repair sits at an awkward place in the current market. Many owners of mechanical timepieces find it difficult to know whether a technician is doing the work properly or merely returning a piece that runs for a few months before the same fault appears again. Tickwright was built to address that uncertainty with a straightforward approach: write down what you find, do only what you agreed to do, and explain your work when you hand the piece back.
George Town has a long history of skilled trades operating in the shophouses along Lebuh Pantai and the surrounding streets. That context matters to how we present ourselves. We are a workshop, not a showroom. The value we offer is in the quality of the work and the honesty of the record, not in packaging or marketing language.
For collectors, particularly those holding inherited pieces or building a working collection of mid-century automatics, the question is rarely about finding someone who can open a watch. It is about finding someone who will handle it with appropriate care, use the right lubricants and gasket sizes, source parts from reliable channels, and return the piece with documentation that means something to the next technician who opens it in fifteen years.
That is the work Tickwright does. We are a small operation and we intend to remain one — not because we cannot grow, but because maintaining the standard of bench work we hold ourselves to is easier when the volume of work is one that can be managed with proper attention to each piece.
— Next Step
Bring your piece to the bench
Whether it is a daily-wear quartz that needs a fresh cell and seal, or a grandfather's automatic that hasn't run well in years, get in touch and we will tell you honestly what we can do.
Send an Enquiry