Snapshot: Franz Lorist -- Watchmaker and then some

By TOM GIBBONEY

Franz Lorist has all the credentials of a master watchmaker. He is the third generation in his family to practice the craft; he was born in Holland, where fine craftsmanship is a long tradition; and he served a five-year apprenticeship in another country, South Africa, where his family moved after World War II.

But while Franz is the consummate watchmaker, he hardly fits the stereotype of the bespectacled man peering myopically into the works of a tiny watch. With his rangy 6 foot-plus frame, bluejeans, cowboy boots, and the shaggy haircut and soup-strainer mustache, Franz looks like he would be more at home on the range than behind a jeweler's counter at his shop on Maloney Lane in downtown Menlo Park.

And while that may be true (he does ride horses), Franz is a man who, customers say, can repair or rebuild virtually any watch or clock worth restoring. "When I get someone who comes to me with a nice piece of machinery and I can restore it, that's enough for me," Franz says. "I especially like to do jobs where people say they have been to four or five other shops. I like mechanics. I can make my own parts. I have five different lathes here. That's fun to do."

If you are looking for a good watch, reasonably priced, Franz says a good timepiece with a Swiss movement can be had for around $200, although he sees more and more customers interested in making a fashion statement instead of wearing a reliable watch.

For example, Franz considers the popular Rolex "a production watch, not a high grade piece of machinery."

"Good watches are like expensive cars. With a nice Ferrari, there is pride of ownership," he says as he displays his personal watch, a gold Patek, which he describes as probably the finest watch in the world.

"Think of it. A watch is the only mechanical thing you own that works for you 24 hours a day and gives very few problems. How long would your car last if it was going 24 hours a day?"

Not surprisingly, Franz's taste in automobiles runs to quality as well. A Cadillac and a 1971 Porsche "that was completely restored when I bought it" are the family vehicles. "Susie (his wife, who is co-owner of Menlo Park Hardware) and I are both off Mondays, so we often put the top down and take the Porsche to Half Moon Bay for lunch."

Another diversion for Franz is tinkering with the Formula 5000 McLaren race car owned by his friend Wes McNay of M&R Automotive. Franz says, "I would never change the oil in my own car but I love taking race car engines apart."

The race of the moment for Franz isn't really a race at all, but a trip across America called the Cannonball Run. He and Wes are driving McNay's 1970 Plymouth Superbird in the event, which began Sunday at Rockefeller Center in New York City. The 25-plus cars entered are given 600 to 700 miles to complete each day on public roads, and are required to park their cars overnight. The run ends October 2 in Redondo Beach.

Recently Franz mastered another trade, at least long enough to virtually single-handedly build Susie two homes on their Menlo Oaks property. The first, a 1,500 square foot "cottage," went up in 1989 and required about eight months to complete.

"I designed them. Drew up all the plans. They are built like fortresses, with a lot of seismic features."

The larger home, a two-story, 3,500 square foot model, was finished about two years ago. Franz shrugs off any notion that it is unusual for a layman to put up a house on his own.

"There are a lot of books on the subject out there. Keep in mind that many of the homes built in California were built by people who couldn't read or write."

Franz's education came on the job, first when he apprenticed with his father and later as a young man starting his own watch repair businesses in the Bay Area. He opened his Menlo Park shop in 1967, first at a location on El Camino Real and then in its present location near the Oak Grove Avenue Post Office. Mike Day, who specializes in clock repair, joined the operation in 1977.

Over the years, Franz has serviced nearly every type of timepiece imaginable, from the tower clock at Filoli to the chronometers used to keep time on many of the ships calling in San Francisco.

Today, Franz is happy with the watch business. And he isn't sure when, but there might be a cabin going up one of these days on that piece of land he owns near Quincy. ...