I finally assembled this today after working on the idea for a while and wanting to move past the “traditional” mod builds.

It uses a Crazy Hours / jumping-hour movement, so the hour hand jumps to the next hour even though the numbers are intentionally scattered around the dial. The minute hand works normally.

I designed the dial myself with my own brand “logo” and added a little handwritten “crazy hours” detail using my own handwriting because why not lol.

The case is 40 mm polished steel, with a textured denim strap. My gf assembled it under my guidance as I fractured my hand and simply couldn’t wait until I get the cast off. Seeing the whole thing actually working after staring at digital mockups for so long was pretty damn satisfying ngl.

I know the dial is VERY busy and definitely won’t be everyone’s thing, but that was kind of the point.
Curious what you guys think, especially about the hands and strap. Would you keep them as they are, or go with something different?

Hello, fellow watchmakers,
I am an amateur who was really inspired by the mechanisms in a mechanical watch, and I wanted to make one on my own. I made this watch (link attached below) based on this website's guide. Along with this, I followed the NIHS standards for the gear trains and worked to make my other parts compatible with them (currently there are 13 parts; it is still bare-bones). However, when I tried to simulate the watch's operation using my input parameters (such as spring constants and damping), SolidWorks Motion Analysis simply failed, even at lower time steps, without error after crossing the first second mark. I strongly believe it is due to the size factor of the parts; the impact-based contact fails. If you know of any software I could use as an alternative to SolidWorks Motion Analysis to simulate, please do let me know.

All animations are slowed down
Swiss Escapement - failed at the 4-second mark

Going Train - failed at the 1.2-second mark

Also, if you have any suggestions on where I could learn more about watchmaking and manufacturing, please let me know. Many thanks :)

Doesn’t look too shabby for £1, scrap leather & some elbow grease. The leather has a higher level of friction which grips the watch case a lot better. Second photo is of the old slippery plastic leather.

I am looking at making a thin .1mm copper date overlay disc to go over the date disc on the sw330 gmt. Would that extra weight likely cause issues? The date disc itself is aluminum.

if you think it would cause an issue could i thin the aluminum date disc before i adhere the copper overlay?

Hi Everyone,

Not sure if this is the right sub for this (please let me know if it’s not). A bunch of years ago I was given a watchmakers lathe thats lived in a box on my shelf. It is definitely incomplete, i think there are a bunch of pieces missing from the headstock like bearings etc at the bare minimum, and it has no collets or anything to hold a piece. (not pictured is the motor and foot pedal, i do have those too.)

My question is this something that can be restored or will it be prohibitively expensive to do that. I am not a watchmaker or jeweller but I’d love to repair/ restore it if it wont bankrupt me.

Thanks in advance if you have any insight!

I got a nice E. Quartier & Fils pocket watch (movement number 3!) and it has this unusual escapement. Does anyone know about it?

During the adjustment of the beat error on this freshly services movement I unfortunately slipped and bend the hairspring - not repairable.

So I then searched for spare parts on this caliber 06 but there are almost none. Since this movement is based on the peseux 200 I actually found a balance assembly and ordered it. But the balance staff is too long so it gets squeezed by the capstones - in fact so long, that shimming it doesnt work either because it needs more than a millimeter play upward to even swing. I was wondering if I could maybe change the haursprings from the peseux balance to the gp one but the gp spring is blued and the peseux one isnt. I also don't have a staking set yet, so I can't just swap them and see what happens.

Maybe one of you guys has an idea on how to fix this or even has a replacement for the balance itself from the cal 06. I really really want this watch to work again. Before the slip it read 290° Amplitude and had +/- 2 seconds a day.

Thanks to the mods for the OK to post this.

I built a free 3D bench where you take a vintage Omega movement apart and put it back together, screw by screw, as an animation. I made it to learn the parts.

It covers calibre's 565, 564, 861, 321 and 1040. Each step shows the right tool, every part carries its Omega part number, and some calibre's include the oiling steps.

It's free, with no sign-up and no ads. It works on a phone or tablet but plays best on a Desktop.

It's new and still in beta. What's wrong, what feels off, and which calibre's should come next?

https://watchbreaker.com/bench?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=watchmaking

Just a bit overkill and gaudy but at least I'll know it's mine

Hi everyone. I'm making my own dial for a project. The material I'm using is aluminum with paint that is damaged, but not flaking as far as I can tell. Is there any clear lacquer, or something you can recommend to treat it with so it's preserved?

Hi folks, im new to watchmaking hence , pls go easy on me. Is there any tips on how to align so many pivots to the bridge, ive been trying for past hour. 😭

It holds the 4th wheel and cannon pinion down, and it was a pain to remove. I pulled it off and put it back on so I don't lose it.

Is it there to prevent the cannon pinion from lifting off? Or so you don't put the seconds hand on too far? Or did my seconds hand break a piece off?

What is the purpose of it? 2824 movement

Went to the Wessex branch meeting of the BHI last week and saw an excellent talk from Owen Gilchrist on the Aegler Watch company, their movement development, work with Rolex and eventual purchase by the same.

It featured live demonstrations and great discussion on these and other movements/watch companies. Plus stories about George Daniels and other master watchmakers.

Also very interesting chat about Smiths watches, not least the debate on whether it was Smiths or Rolex that made it to Everest’s summit first.

Hello everyone. I am recently thinking about getting an automatic oiler, specifically the Bergeon 2718a. I want to oil cap jewels with it only. Normal Incabloc jewels are easy, but I absolutely hate the non shock protected Balance jewels, since they are a real pain to oil properly. But I don't work on these too often. My question: I have the chance to get an unused and original packaged one with a spare tip for 55€. Should I take the deal? I think it's more of a "want" thing than a necessity. But I think it could be worth it since the small balance screws, holding the cap jewels in place are prone to break if I have to assemble and disassemble it 2-3 times if I fuck up the assembly process and displace the oil. And if just one movement doesn't break which it otherwise would have, could be worth that price. But I am really torn. What do you guys think?

Found today. Just curious about it

Hi friends

I am looking for a one-off textured watch dial maker — brown waffle and teal concentric rings

Hi all, I’m building two watch prototypes from my own designs and struggling to find someone who can make the textured dials in quantities of just one each.

I’m looking for:

• A brown waffle/grid textured metal dial, with custom printed markings and branding.

• A teal metal dial with concentric circular grooves radiating from the centre, ideally with applied indices and branding.

I want actual physical texture in the metal rather than a flat printed pattern or raised ink. I’m happy to use an existing textured blank if it can be finished in the right colour and customised.

Final diameter, thickness and mounting would need to be agreed to suit the cases and movements before ordering. I can provide design images.

UK preferred, but happy to consider overseas makers. Does anyone have recommendations, or experience commissioning something similar as a one-off?

Thanks!

Can de ionized battery water be used in place of distilled water for cleaning watch components? I have misting under my watch crystal that I can't reach and it was suggested to use distilled water to submerge the watch case and dissolve the mist/fog

new to watch making so don’t burn me too bad, but i need help figuring out what these parts are and what they do. i ordered a sw200-1 and it came with these. if anybody knows where i can learn more and how to use them it would be greatly appreciated.

I have an idea for making a gilt date disc but i need to know the thickness of a miyota 9015/9075 date disc and what the maximum thickness one could be. Anyone by chance know that or a general rule of thumb?

I have the chance to buy this machine for €250, do you guys think its worth it?

The plan is to make it look all shine and beautiful again.

Let me know what you guys think!

I have a Sieko watch I took the snap on back off to change a part and I got everything back together but then when I seated the back gasket and pressed (I thought evenly) it got smushed in one place and now its distorted and too big to I think ever go on.

I found a kit of a million sizes on eBay but its not clear what size I would really need other than the diameter. How do I get the right gasket? I can buy a little crystal press I guess to do better than my hands to push evenly but I feel like I need the right gasket now. Googled a lot of the case back but no luck. Some OEM parts on eBay are like 18 dollars, while a kit of 5 of everything that looks similar is 35 dollars.

To be clear it looks like perhaps a tapered thin plastic ring.

Any tips?

Just purchased this book, written by George Daniel. Outstanding book on Breguet life and his journey through horology. Great book and worth a read, remember NO ELECTRICITY!

The bracelet on this Fossil watch ES5329 has only three removable links (all the others are unremovable); When all three of them are removed the watch is too snug on the wrist, when only two of them are removed it's too loose. I was thinking maybe a solution would be to remove all three of them and then find an extra link somewhere with a smaller diameter to add instead of one of the original ones. I already asked in two local watch repair shops in Tirana and I got the same response that there is no solution. Do you have any idea for a workaround? Any help would be appreciated.