My grandfather was a watchmaker and in 1898, he launched a company in London that made pocket watches. He became quite successful and when he found it difficult to recruit more staff to make his watches, he decided to relocate the business to Cardiff, where it still is today.
After about 25 years, the demand for pocket watches began to fall, so he diversified into making clocks – mainly grandfather and mantel clocks at first and then carriage clocks, which became the core product for the rest of the century as Rapport London was passed down through my family.
I studied economics at Birmingham University but after graduating, I decided to go into the family business. The pull of the business is very strong and I'm pleased to say my son, after qualifying as a chartered accountant and being offered a job with a big merchant bank in London, also decided to come home and work with us.
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Back when we were mainly making carriage clocks, around 80 per cent of our production was exported, mostly to the US and the former British colonies. Towards the end of the 20th century, we found our handcrafted clocks were struggling to compete with the abundance of mass-produced pieces from the Far East.
We decided to put our skilled workforce to different uses. We started making automatic watch-winders and cabinets. We make single winders, double winders, quad winders and winding cabinets in a range of different materials and styles. The reason we can produce an unrivalled range of winders is because of the skills we've built up as a company over all the years working with brass, leather, wood and glass.
We still make a range of pocket watches, which account for around ten per cent of our business. We also make a range of leather goods, many of which are watch-related, such as collector and travel boxes, but we also make wallets and briefcases, often as bespoke items that existing customers have asked for.
We employ around 50 people – some come straight from school, others come skilled from other businesses, but all are trained on the job so we can ensure the high quality our customers expect.
We're always developing new lines – at the moment we're working on a range of portable drinks cabinets in lightweight cases. But the watch winders are the core of our business. My personal favourites are the Optima winders, where you can see the cogs in action as they're working.
I'm now in my early 70s but have no plans to retire. I've always been part of the firm, ever since my dad had me working in the packing room during the school holidays. When you have a business that has been in your family for generations, you want to see it continue. That's why I'm so happy my son has come into the business.
Over the years, Rapport has been through tough times with all the changes in the industry, but I'm glad to say we've risen to the occasion every time.
DEREK RAPPORT is chairman of the family-run business Rapport London, which makes watch winders, pocket watches and handcrafted leather goods; rapportlondon.com
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