A situation that's been decades in the making, Rhonda Riche, reporting for Watchonista, breaks down some of what's at the root of the global shortage of watchmakers and the corresponding problems that entails for watch brands across the board.

Interestingly, Riche ties an aspect of brands' relatively recent refusal to sell spare parts to accredited watchmakers back to watch buyer's burgeoning demand for in-house watch calibers:

However, as brands moved toward the integrated manufacturing model, they also brought more and more aspects of the watchmaking process, including servicing, in-house. For repair places outside of the big cities, getting parts to fix watches became troublesome, with even jewelry stores authorized to sell and service specific brands having to send timepieces back to Switzerland for once-simple fixes like crystal replacements.

The cutting off of access to parts has been a keystone issue in the decline of competent watchmaking talent since the initial onset of brand-enforced parts restrictions around turn of the millennium.

Some amount of friction is necessary to gain momentum, but too much and even the best oiled machine will grind to a halt. An ample amount of friction in earning a living as a watchmaker already existed when brands cooperated with independent watchmakers. The cutting off of parts supply has unequivocally introduced too much friction into the system. So much so that even consumers are now starting to feel the heat.