Rinaldi works around the clock
Zakki Hakim, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Rinaldi dismantles the inside of an antique clock then puts it back together again in a matter of hours. The hands of the clock perfectly split the seconds.
The clock repairman is one of a few whose lives are dedicated to the unique craft of working with time, or more precisely the device for indicating it.
As the 17th century English philosopher Francis Bacon wrote: "Time is the greatest innovator."
From his modest workshop called "Batavia Art Clock" on Jl. Kemang Timur, South Jakarta, Rinaldi practices his craft from day to day.
Sometimes, his work only requires him to replace the clock's wooden trunk. Not much of a challenge, but he takes the job anyway.
The 33-year old man works with delicacy and fastidiousness, saying that each job entails a precise and constant application.
"Installing every wheel requires unwavering concentration because a slight slip from another wheel ruins everything," he told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday afternoon.
That afternoon, he placidly installed the wheels, pinions, minute hand, hour hand, pendulum and a multitude of other vital, mechanical bits into a complete clock.
"This piece of art is far different and more reliable than modern clocks that are very fragile," he said.
The clock was a Junghans -- one of the most famous brands he has worked on aside from Gustav Becker, Mauthe and others.
"Finding the original spare parts for these clocks is almost impossible," said Rinaldi who opened his workshop four years ago.
Therefore, he depends on middlemen or suppliers who buy and sell scraps from old clocks. A small cardboard box of scraps, full of potential spare parts, is worth around Rp 20,000. The suppliers regularly visit him offering him new stock.
He said he knew the suppliers from his previous job as an assistant to a very senior expert in a similar workshop in Puncak, Bogor.
During his three year's apprenticeship he became skilled in fixing old clocks, as well as establishing connections with suppliers and saving money for his business capital.
And, when the time came, he established his own business.
"Actually, I started this business as a hobby," he said. A hobby that now gives him a salary of up to Rp 2 million (approximately US$237.67) every month.
Rinaldi said that he charged his customers between Rp 100,000 and Rp 300,000 depending on the level of difficulty of the task. "Sometimes I charge more, but very rarely," he said.
His customers are mostly foreigners. "Why? Well, my workshop is in Kemang where many foreigners live and most of them highly regard antique clocks like these," he said, pointing to rows of weight-driven clocks displayed on the wall.
He said, however, that during the last two or three years, an increasing number of locals had become interested in classic clocks and trusted their maintenance to him.
Although the digital world seems set to outmode such unique craftsmanship, Rinaldi is convinced that his services will still be needed for many years to come.
Rinaldi's future lies in the restoration of devices to measure time from the past. Somehow this notion correlates with Salvador Dali's surrealist vision of time: "The Persistence of Memory."