May 28, 2024
Obituary: Antoine Simonin, WOSTEP Director, Educator, and Bookseller
Antoine Simonin (1938-2024), who died on May 20 at the age of 84, left his mark on generations of watchmakers and watchmaking enthusiasts. He will be best remembered as the director of WOSTEP (Watches Of Switzerland Training Educational Program) from 1976 to 2003. Simonin was a person obsessed with the transmission of watchmaking knowledge, and sought to make WOSTEP an instrument for the international dissemination of watchmaking mastery. Founded in 1966, WOSTEP sought to train watchmakers capable of maintaining and repairing Swiss-made watches according to the standards laid out by their makers, the Swiss watch industry. Over time, its courses have been taught in English, French, German, Japanese, Swedish, and Mandarin. “I studied at WOSTEP under Antoine Simonin in 1987 and 1991,” says Peter Speake, the watchmaker best known for founding Speake-Marin, “He was instrumental in keeping WOSTEP going during that difficult industry period, subsequently influencing the careers and friendships of many watchmakers, directly and indirectly, playing a significant role in the lives of many crossing multiple generations.” Recounts another student, Paul Francis Madden, now himself an instructor at WOSTEP, “I was a student in 1987, back when the staff at WOSTEP was only Mr Simonin and his wife Josiane… It came to showing him my first hairspring… He slowly spun my balance wheel in his callipers, scrutinising it for what seemed like an eternity, and all without saying a sing...
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