Gallery: A time-honoured tradition By: Mikaela MacKenzie Posted: Last Modified:

While Manitobans primarily only worry about adjusting their clocks twice a year — including springing forward an hour this weekend — it’s often a daily routine for Ilya Goldman.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 06/03/2026 (235 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

While Manitobans primarily only worry about adjusting their clocks twice a year — including springing forward an hour this weekend — it’s often a daily routine for Ilya Goldman.

Goldman is a horologist — in other words someone who makes and repairs watches and clocks. It’s a career he’s been passionate about for 35 years, including the past 11 with Appelt’s Diamond Jewellery.

The most interesting timepieces he works on are usually highly complicated — watches with chronographs, alarms or minute repeaters. These watches have hundreds of intricate components and advanced mechanisms, which require experience, patience and careful attention to detail.

Over the years, Goldman has worked on many prestigious brands such as Rolex, Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet. In some cases, he’s worked on rare watches worth up to $400,000.

Whether in daylight or standard time, business just ticks along.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Horologist Ilya Goldman takes apart a Hamilton automatic watch.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS

Horologist Ilya Goldman takes apart a Hamilton automatic watch.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Horologist Ilya Goldman takes apart a Hamilton automatic watch.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS

Horologist Ilya Goldman takes apart a Hamilton automatic watch.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Horologist Ilya Goldman takes apart a Hamilton automatic watch.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS

Horologist Ilya Goldman takes apart a Hamilton automatic watch.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Parts are placed into a cleaning basket.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS

Parts are placed into a cleaning basket.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS The work requires patience and precision.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS

The work requires patience and precision.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS When a watch is brough in for repairs, it is taken apart, cleaned, checked for wear and oiled before being reassembled.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS

When a watch is brough in for repairs, it is taken apart, cleaned, checked for wear and oiled before being reassembled.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Goldman with some of the watches awaiting servicing.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS

Goldman with some of the watches awaiting servicing.

Mikaela MacKenzie

Mikaela MacKenzie
Photojournalist

Mikaela MacKenzie loves meeting people, experiencing new things, and learning something every day. That's what drove her to pursue a career as a visual journalist — photographers get a hands-on, boots-on-the-ground look at the world.

   Read full biography

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