Nakara · Bangkok
Where care
meets craft
A small workshop on Phra Athit Road, founded on the belief that every watch deserves thoughtful attention and an honest conversation.
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Started by a technician, run as a workshop
Nakara began in 2009 when Krit Thamrongsiri, a watchmaker trained in Switzerland and returned to Bangkok, decided to open a small service atelier near the Chao Phraya. He had spent years in larger settings and wanted something quieter — a place where watches could be looked at unhurriedly, one at a time.
The name Nakara is a Thai word for a palace or grand hall, chosen a little ironically for a room that fits four people and a bench of tools. What it points to is the care rather than the scale: every piece coming through the door is treated as if it matters, because to its owner it does.
Over the years the workshop has grown modestly. There are now two full-time technicians and a small intake desk where clients can sit and discuss their watch before leaving it. The approach has not changed: assess thoroughly, communicate openly, work carefully, and return the watch in a state that reflects the time spent on it.
We are not the fastest option in Bangkok. We are not trying to be. Speed and watch repair do not always belong together, and we would rather take the time needed than deliver something we are not satisfied with.
Our Mission
To look after timepieces with the attention they deserve — whether a daily quartz watch needing a battery or a pocket watch that has not run in forty years. We aim to be the kind of workshop people feel comfortable leaving a watch they care about.
Our Values
- Honesty first. We tell you what we find, what it will cost, and how long it will take — before work starts.
- Patience over speed. Some work takes time. We would rather take the time than cut corners.
- Respect for the object. Every watch has a history. We try to honor that in the way we handle and restore it.
- Open conversation. If we are not sure, we say so. If something unexpected surfaces, we call you before continuing.
Years serving Bangkok watch owners, from everyday quartz pieces to family heirlooms and collector antiques.
The People
Our Workshop Team
Three people, each with a defined role, working together without a production-line mentality.
Krit Thamrongsiri
Founder & Master Watchmaker
Trained in Geneva, returned to Bangkok in 2009. Krit handles antique and complex mechanical work personally, and oversees all assessments for new clients.
Nattaya Pongpan
Watchmaker — Mechanical Services
Specialises in mechanical service and timing adjustment. Nattaya joined Nakara in 2015 after several years with a watch retailer in Siam, where she developed her regulation technique.
Anchalee Wattana
Workshop Coordinator
Manages intake, client communication, and scheduling. Anchalee is the first point of contact for most clients and ensures nothing is lost between stages of a service.
How We Work
Standards We Maintain
Written Assessment Record
Every watch is photographed and logged on intake. The condition report is shared with the client and kept on file for the duration of the service.
Lubricants & Parts Quality
We use watch-grade lubricants from established manufacturers and source replacement parts from reputable suppliers. We will always tell you if an original part is unavailable and discuss alternatives.
Timing Verification
Mechanical services include regulation testing across multiple positions using a timing machine. We share the results with you when you collect, so you know what to expect from daily performance.
Secure Storage
Watches in our care are stored in a locked, climate-controlled cabinet. They do not leave our premises during the service and are never passed to third parties.
Water Resistance Testing
Where a watch carries a water resistance rating and we have replaced seals, we test to confirm the case is properly sealed before returning it. We note the result on the service record.
Written Service Summary
Each completed service comes with a written summary of the work done, parts replaced, and any observations about the watch's condition. This goes home with the piece.
Watch repair and restoration in Bangkok's Phra Nakhon district
Bangkok has no shortage of watch shops, but most are focused on retail sales or quick battery swaps at the counter. Nakara sits in a different place: a workshop where the work is done slowly and with attention, by people who have spent years understanding what happens inside a watch case when a movement ages, dries out, or absorbs moisture.
Phra Nakhon, the area around the old royal city, has a quiet quality suited to this kind of work. The street is unhurried. Clients come in, sit down, talk about their watch, and leave it knowing exactly what will happen next and when they can expect to hear back. That sense of a known process is something many people find reassuring when they are leaving something they value.
Our work covers the full range from a simple quartz battery to the careful disassembly and reassessment of a watch movement that has not been opened in thirty or forty years. Between those two, there is a wide range of mechanical service work — cleaning, lubricating, adjusting, testing — that keeps watches running as they were designed to run.
We work with watches from most Swiss and Japanese manufacturers, as well as early Thai-market pocket watches and some European antique pieces. If you are not sure whether your watch falls within our experience, the simplest approach is to bring it in or describe it over the phone. We are straightforward about what we can and cannot do.
Have a watch that needs attention?
We are happy to take a look and tell you what it needs before you decide anything. No pressure, just an honest conversation about your timepiece.
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