Young shoe shiner becomes billion-dollar watch repairman in Hanoi

From a young shoe shiner to a billion-dollar watch repairman, Omega School has also taught hundreds of young people to have stable jobs.

Watch enthusiasts are no stranger to the name Truong Omega, who specializes in repairing billion-dollar watches in Hanoi, but few people know that this man from Thai Binh used to make a living by doing jobs such as shining shoes and cleaning stores.

Dang Van Truong (born in 1983), owner of the "Watch Hospital" chain of stores, said: After graduating from grade 12 in 2000, he left his hometown to go to Hanoi to make a living, doing all kinds of jobs from shoe shiner, porter, to janitor for a hotel on Tran Hung Dao street.

Truong’s superiors at the hotel had a watch shop on Hang Khay Street. Truong came here to clean up and took his first steps into the world of watches when he learned the trade from Mr. Thanh, a teacher at the vocational school on Hang Bong Street.

After 9 years of “eating and sleeping” with watches, in 2010, Mr. Truong participated in the Southeast Asia regional skills competition, achieving the highest result with 74/100 points. He was able to visit and receive training in watch repair at Omega in 2011 in Switzerland.

From here, people affectionately nicknamed him "Omega School".

In 2014, Mr. Truong opened a Watch Hospital and a watch repair training class. "After 10 years of establishing the Watch Hospital and training, I now have 170 students from all over the provinces. Occasionally, when students in the provinces encounter 'difficult cases', I always help them handle them," he said.

He said he is planning to compile a book on watch repair and hopes that watch repair will become a subject in a career guidance environment for young people.

Mr. Truong met many experts from world famous watch brands such as Seiko, Rado, Omega and was trained by them.

“I have done many jobs to earn a living, but this is my favorite. I can sit until 10pm to repair a watch without feeling tired. There are many watches that I enjoy so much that I work from morning until 4-5pm, without needing lunch,” he confided.

The legendary Patek Philippe 5270R watch, with a solid rose gold case, using the CH 29-535 PS Q hand-wound movement, is maintained in every detail at Mr. Dang Van Truong's watch repair center. The Girad Perregaux Tourbillon 3 gold bridges watch is a rare type in the world, few people in Vietnam own it. Through Mr. Truong's hands, the watch is maintained, oiled and runs smoothly.

The Girad Perregaux Tourbillon 3-bridge gold watch is rare in the world, and few people in Vietnam own it. Through Mr. Truong's hands, the watch has been maintained, oiled, and runs smoothly.

The Jaeger Lecoultre Tourbillon automatic watch worth more than 2 billion VND was brought in for maintenance by a customer.

Since 2014, Mr. Truong has opened a training class for watch repair. “I know that it is not easy to pursue this career, but I still want many young people to consider becoming a ‘time doctor’ as a good choice for their career. Only then can the watch repair profession in Vietnam develop,” Mr. Truong shared.

The job requires a high level of technical skill and meticulous attention to detail. It is not something that everyone can do. Once you get used to the heartbeat in each watch, it is very difficult for anyone to want to quit.

According to VietNamNet

Source: https://tienphong.vn/thanh-nien-danh-giay-tro-thanh-tho-sua-dong-ho-tien-ty-dat-ha-thanh-post1665524.tpo