Our Workshop

A Bench Built Around
Careful Work

Ticklore is a single-technician watch repair workshop in George Town, Penang. Every piece is assessed honestly, every job is scoped clearly, and nothing moves to the bench without a written intake record.

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Our Story

How Ticklore Came to Jalan Burma

Ticklore opened on Jalan Burma in 2017, inside a narrow shophouse unit that had previously housed a tailor and, before that, a sundry goods counter. The name combines tick — the sound of an escapement — with lore, meaning accumulated knowledge. That pairing was deliberate: good bench work is earned through observation, not hurried.

The founding decision was to keep the workshop small. A single bench means one person handles intake, assessment, disassembly, service, and return. There is no relay of hands, no production pressure, and no job that gets overlooked in a pile. The person who takes your watch is the person who works on it.

George Town's heritage district provided an appropriate setting. Penang's shophouse culture has long housed craftspeople who worked slowly and billed fairly — cobblers, goldsmiths, instrument repairers. Ticklore fits that pattern more than it fits the model of a retail watch counter. The front of the unit is the reception; the bench is visible through an open door behind it.

Over the years the work has settled into three clear service areas: movement overhauls for self-winding calibres, water resistance renewal and pressure testing, and longer-term dial archive projects for pieces with damaged or faded dials. Each has its own scope, timeline, and documentation approach. None is carried out with shortcuts.

Mission

To carry out watch repair work that the owner can verify — through written records, documented measurements, and honest scope discussions before and after each job. Ticklore does not sell replacement parts at inflated margins, does not rush calibre work, and does not return a watch until the bench record is complete.

The Bench

Who Works on Your Watch

Razif Salleh

Workshop Principal & Bench Technician

Trained in Kuala Lumpur and completed extended study at a Swiss-affiliated movement school before returning to Penang. Has worked exclusively on mechanical and quartz movements for over fourteen years. Handles intake, overhaul, and all bench decisions personally.

Lily Mah

Client Records & Archive Coordinator

Manages intake documentation, client communication, and the archival folders for dial refinishing projects. Trained in conservation documentation and brings a methodical approach to the written records that accompany every piece through the workshop.

Workshop Standards

How We Approach Each Service

Written Intake Protocol

Every watch entering the workshop receives a condition assessment note before any service discussion begins. The note records visible damage, previous repair marks, and the owner's stated concern. No assumptions are made at intake.

Measurement Before and After

Power reserve is measured before an overhaul begins and again after completion. Pressure testing produces a printout with the figures reached. Measurements are not estimated — they are recorded instruments readings.

Parts Transparency

If worn parts such as reversers or a damaged crown tube need replacement, we quote the cost separately and confirm agreement before ordering. No part is substituted without notification.

Secure Storage on Bench

Watches in progress are held in padded bench trays with their intake cards. The workshop is locked outside of working hours. Pieces awaiting collection are held in a locked drawer indexed by intake number.

Single-Technician Continuity

The same person handles a watch from intake to return. This avoids the transfer errors and accountability gaps that occur in multi-technician relay systems. If you call for a status note, you speak with the person who has the watch on the bench.

Tropical Climate Consideration

Penang's humidity and heat affect lubricant viscosity and gasket aging differently than temperate climates. Service intervals and material choices at Ticklore account for local wearing conditions, not just manufacturer defaults.

Our Practice

Bench Practice in George Town

Ticklore operates within a tradition of craft-based repair that values careful work over volume. George Town, as a UNESCO World Heritage city, holds a number of long-established craft workshops — and the expectation of those clients is that a repair is carried out with attention to the original, not a substitute for it.

Mechanical watches are objects with a history inside them. A rotor-driven movement that was serviced by a previous owner carries traces of that work in the lubricants used, the parts selected, and the timing records available. Understanding that context is part of what a good overhaul requires. Ticklore reads that history at intake and notes it in the bench record.

Quartz movements are sometimes treated as lower in value than mechanical calibres. That view is not shared here. A well-maintained quartz movement in a solid case represents a considered choice by the original owner. Water resistance renewal and pressure testing for sports watches reflects that same level of care.

The dial archive project acknowledges a decision that many owners find difficult: whether to conserve original patina or restore a dial to its factory appearance. Both are valid positions, and the project is structured to help owners make that decision with reference material in front of them — comparison samples, photography, and written notes — rather than retrospectively.

Bench Enquiry

Bring a watch to the bench.

Send the details through and we will respond with an honest scope before anything is agreed.

Send an Enquiry

A Bench Built AroundCareful Work