ABOUT THE WORKSHOP
A Kuala Lumpur Workshop
Built Around the Bench
Horolume began as a single-person workshop with one rule: no piece leaves the bench until the work is right. That has not changed.
← Back to HomeOUR STORY
From a Rented Corner to Jalan Sultan Ismail
Horolume started in 2009 in a rented corner of a jewellery shop in Chow Kit. The founder, a trained watchmaker who had completed a technical apprenticeship under a Swiss-trained master in Penang, wanted a city-based workshop that could handle the full scope of mechanical watch service — not just battery changes and strap swaps.
The early years were slow, as they tend to be for any trade workshop. Work came in by referral, mostly from watch enthusiast forums and the occasional mention in a collectors' gathering. There was no advertising — just word that if you had a piece that needed real attention, this was the place to bring it.
By 2015 the workshop had outgrown its original space and moved to its current address on Jalan Sultan Ismail. The bench is larger now and the equipment more complete, but the approach remains the same: assessment before work, owner consulted at every decision point, and a service file that travels home with the watch.
WHAT WE STAND FOR
The Workshop's Values
Honesty about condition
We write a condition report before touching a piece. If the work required is more than the watch is worth to you, we say so. No owner should be surprised by a bill.
Originality over convenience
On vintage pieces in particular, we do not substitute modern parts when period-correct alternatives can be sourced. It takes longer. It costs more in some cases. But it is the right approach for a piece with history.
No shortcuts on lubrication
Different contact points require different oils at different viscosities. Using a single general lubricant is faster but damages components over time. We stock and use the correct grades for each calibre family.
The file stays with the watch
Every piece that leaves our workshop is accompanied by documentation: condition report, parts list, regulation chart. For vintage restorations, that means a bound file. These are not afterthoughts — they are part of the service.
THE BENCH TEAM
The People Behind the Work
Rasyid Hamid
MASTER WATCHMAKER
Trained under a Swiss-certified master in Penang and has been servicing mechanical calibres for over fifteen years. Handles movement overhaul and vintage restoration personally.
Siew Lin
CASE TECHNICIAN
Specialises in hand finishing — brushed grain restoration and polished-surface work. Also manages gasket replacement and water resistance testing across all completed pieces.
Amirah Noor
CLIENT LIAISON & DOCUMENTATION
Manages intake, written assessments and the photographic records that accompany each job. First point of contact for new enquiries and handles parts sourcing research for vintage work.
WORKSHOP STANDARDS
How We Work
These are the protocols that apply to every job that comes through the workshop, regardless of service type or value of the piece.
Intake Documentation
Every piece is photographed and given a written reference number at intake. Condition is noted before the piece is placed on the bench. This record stays with the job throughout.
Pre-Work Approval
No bench work begins without a written condition assessment reaching the owner first. Cost is stated clearly. Work only proceeds after explicit approval — in writing or by email.
Rate Regulation
After reassembly, every mechanical movement is regulated and monitored across six positions for a minimum of 48 hours. The rate data is recorded and sent home with the watch.
Water Resistance Check
Pieces with a water resistance rating are tested at 3 bar before return. Gaskets are replaced as standard on any job that requires case opening. Results are noted in the service record.
Correct Lubricants Only
We maintain a range of calibre-specific lubricants and apply them to the correct contact points at the correct viscosity. No substitute oils are used in the interest of saving time.
Secure Handling
Pieces not on the bench are stored in a secure cabinet. We hold professional liability cover for all work in our possession. Receipts are issued at intake and on collection.
WORKSHOP EXPERTISE
Mechanical Watch Servicing in Kuala Lumpur
Watch servicing in Kuala Lumpur covers a wide range of providers — from large multi-brand service centres to informal traders working from counter space. Horolume sits between these: a small, independent workshop focused solely on mechanical and self-winding pieces, where the work is done by the same hands that take the intake call.
Movement service work — disassembly, ultrasonic cleaning, magnified inspection, correct lubrication and regulated reassembly — forms the core of what we do. This is the type of work that keeps a calibre running accurately over the years. It is also the type of work that requires both the right equipment and the attention that can only come from a small operation where each job is tracked individually.
Case and bracelet refinishing is the second area where we frequently take in work. The most common request is re-cutting brushed grain on steel sports watches that have collected desk marks. The less common but more involved work is restoring polished surfaces on dress pieces without erasing the shaping of the case. Both require hand tools and patience rather than a polishing wheel.
The vintage restoration programme is the most open-ended type of work we take on. Pieces in this category may have spent decades in a drawer, may have been badly serviced previously, or may simply be old enough that components are no longer commercially available. The work begins with research and documentation, not with tools, and the owner is kept informed at each stage rather than presented with a completed piece and a final invoice.
Horolume serves individual collectors, watch owners bringing in family pieces, and sellers preparing a watch for handover. We do not offer rapid turnaround as a selling point — bench time is what it is, and the work takes as long as it needs to.
START HERE
Have a Piece That Needs Attention?
A brief written description of the watch and what you have noticed is the best way to begin. We will respond with a realistic assessment of the scope and cost before you bring anything in.
Send an Enquiry