Joe Cerra

Don’t tell anyone that Joseph Cerra of Lehigh Acres will be 89 in March. Because for one reason, he doesn’t believe it. He’s still active and enjoys a hobby he has had for most of his lifetime.

“I love clocks,” Cerra of Grovewood Ave. in Lehigh said. He’s been a member for 15 years of the National Association Watch & Clock Collectors Club.

And he’s probably the only person in Lehigh who can repair an antique clock. If he can’t find the parts, which often times are unavailable, he can make them.

Cerra does clock repair in Lehigh and people with prized clocks and pocket watches beat a path to his front door when their time pieces need repair.

Cerra is looking forward to the NAWCC Chapter 98 2010 Watch and Clock Exhibit and Show to be held Saturday Feb. 6 at the Lee County Public Library at the corner of Gladiolus and Bass Rd in Fort Myers. It will last from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and those who love old clocks and beautiful watches are encouraged to come and see this year’s exhibit.

“The show is intended as a way to alert the public to our group and extend membership to them,” he said.

Cerra also said the public is also encouraged to bing in old clocks and watches for a free appraisal.

“And if there are some things wrong with them, we can offer the help to repair them,” he said.

The Watch and Clock Exhibit is a popular affair each year. This is the sixth annual such show and if last year was any indication of people’s interest, there may be as many as 400 or more attending the show this year. Admission is free.

“We had more than 350 people last year and the years before,” Cerra said.

The organization is known for its interest in old and historic clubs with old time pieces.

According to Cerra, the organization has repaired and serviced all the clocks at the Thomas A. Edison Home on McGregor Blvd. in Fort Myers and the Burroughs home in Fort Myers.

“We have donated the street clock located in Centennial park to the city,” he said.

“We will have all kinds of clocks and time pieces,” Cerra said. “From the oldest to the not so old and a lot of pocket watches. If you want to know what they are valued at these days, this is the way to find out,” he said.

Cerra said he still receives clocks from folks in Fort Myers, Estero, Lehigh, and in Charlotte County for repairs.

“These old prized clocks should be taken care of. They are often keepsakes in families and keeping them working means a lot to folks. That’s what I can do … keep ’em ticking,” he laughed.

He said there are several people in the area who collect clocks and many of them will bring several to the show for exhibit.

“If you’ve got your grandmother’s old clock packed away somewhere and want to bring it in for appraisal and to see if it still works, people should do it. If old family clocks are on a mantle and maybe don’t run, bring them in, too. Even if your old time pieces are working, bring them in and find out how much they are worth,” he said.

Cerra spent years working for the Sylvania Company and then he operated a jewelery store for 22 years where he also repaired clocks.

To contact Cerra, you must set up an appointment. You can email him at: josephcerra123@comcast net.

His “clock repair” name card says Cerra can clean, calibrate and refurbish antique clocks. He can also Barograoph and does Thermograph repair. What does that mean? You’ll have to ask him.

It’s all clock lingo and clock collectors understand each other and they are always looking for antique and interesting clocks.

“If its got a spring in it and it is not working, bring it in and we’ll take a look at it. We can probably return it to operational,” he said.

“I just repair clocks; I don’t collect them,” he said. “But I see all kinds and they all are very interesting. It takes us back to a time when clock making was a real craft, long before the days of cheap watches and wall clocks that run on a 9-volt battery.

For those who would like to join the National Association Watch & Clock Collectors, the membership fee is small, only $10 a year.

Cerra says he realizes that his is growing older and nothing would please him more than for a younger man to become interested in repairing old clocks.

“I hate to see the art of clock repair end,” he said.

Looking back over the years, Cerra said Chelsea ships clocks were the best ever made and he can repair them and build parts that can’t be found any longer.

And the last thing you want to do is throw out an old clock. People would be surprised how valuable they are.

“That’s why we encourage people to bring them in and see what our appraisals say.

“If you have an old Rollex, bring it in. It holds its value and we can repair them to make them just like new again,” Cerra said.

Cerra said he isn’t ready to slow down just yet. He is an active member of the Rotary Club and works as much as he can on clocks people bring to him.

Clock repair is a disappearing art. There are few good clock repair people left in this country. Mentoring someone younger would make Cerra happy so that when he is gone, he knows the art of good clock repair is still alive.