From a small watch repair business in Haslington 75 years ago to the jewellers we all know and love today, John Pass is celebrating this milestone birthday in a very special way with 75 Moments of Kindness throughout 2023. To find out more about their plans for the coming year, I visited their shop on Nantwich Road in Crewe to talk to its current custodian, Andrew Pass.Andrew tells me the history of the business, which started back in the 1800s with Thomas Edwin Pass, a watchmaker in Coventry, who specialised in making parts for English Lever pocket watches. His son joined him in the business, but competition from Switzerland and America took its toll on English watchmaking, and the family business closed in 1906. Thomas Pass moved to Cheshire, where he worked as a watch repairer. On his retirement, he set up his own watchmaking workshop where he was joined by his three sons, who completed their watchmaking apprenticeships under him just as World War II broke out.During this time the three brothers were drafted into the RAF, which recruited them specifically for their watchmaking skills – putting them to good use making and fixing aircraft instruments such as altimeters, which they would then have to personally test in the air. At the close of the war, two of the brothers returned and set up a thriving watch repair business in Haslington, near Crewe. This was later followed in 1956 with the opening of John Pass on Nantwich Road in Crewe – where we know it today!Andrew’s grandfather, John Pass Senior, needed help one busy run-up to Christmas, so Andrew’s dad put his plans to become a teacher on hold with the aim of just helping him out for a couple of weeks; however, he never left!Andrew attributes the growth of the retail side of the business to his mum and dad whilst maintaining a service centre on site for watch and jewellery repairs. In fact, Martin, their in-house jeweller, is celebrating 50 years of service with John Pass next year. Having an in-house jeweller means you can go into them with a gem of an idea, perhaps an image or drawing of something you like, and they can design it for you, bringing it to life on CAD (computer-aided design and drafting) software and then making a wax mould so you can really get a feel for how the piece will look when it is fully made. They have links with the oldest jewellery manufacturers in the UK; these pieces are of outstanding quality and made by craftspeople with a wealth of experience.Andrew’s own career is extremely interesting. He graduated from university with a first-class honours in mining engineering, and he then went on to work for Marks and Spencer, where he cut his teeth in retail as a graduate trainee. He worked his way up in M&S; however, with a very similar fate as his own father, he recognised his parents needed some help in the business, so he took a year career break to support them and never looked back. Andrew has been at John Pass for nearly 30 years now. He believes his prior experience in retail gave him a great understanding of the business, and this knowledge has helped him enormously during the changes that bricks and mortar retail has faced over the decades and continues to experience. His own daughter has also achieved qualifications in other fields, and Andrew values these skills as they will be transferable, if they take over the business in the future. Andrew likes having people in the John Pass team who have worked in other industries as they bring in new perspectives and fresh eyes. This helps the business to move with the times and stay current.