Would you build your own watch?

I did one of these with a kit from Rotate. I'm normally the kind that has no problem assembling anything and am pretty good at disassembling consumer items with no real background.

I had problems. Apparently I knew a little too much for my own good which caused me to mentally block important parts of instructions. My eyesight is middle-aged, and housekeeping poor, so I dropped tiny parts and took hours to kind them, or often had to beg the supplier for replacements.

And this was for some gigantic mostly-done pocket watch-sized movement. I feel this is a game for younger people with organizational skills and methodical thinking well beyond mine.

Is that Bezos'wife? 🤣

Oh no!  Yeah I definitely didn't watch the instructional videos they had until I ran into problem 😬. Luckily the watch is working still on day 2

It’s the best part of the hobby. 

The only hard part is being patient. The kits are easy in the sense that everything is guaranteed to fit. I started not with a kit, but bought an inexpensive watch based on an NH35, and simply took it from there. But yes, it can be a lot of fun. 

I wouldn't call it watch-making though, at least not until I worked on the movement myself. Today I really don't do much more than regulate it. I'm a modder in that sense. 

I like the idea, but I'm a klutz, so it'd be a waste of time/£.

My man(for the software part, haha)! However, I would not mind trying modding my Seiko 5s!

Ah------h I think she's technically a girlfriend and maybe his helicopter pilot😎

I think I would end up with a pile of tiny parts. 

The thing that bugs me about the watch building kits I've seen online (of which there seems to be few), the watches you end up building just aren't that appealing to me. I feel like they look cheap. The kits you got...are they good? I'll definitely watch your video.

I actually found some books on watch repair on Amazon. Not sure how detailed or accurate they are, but it might be a place to begin. 😀 Just trying to decide which one is good to begin with.

I have something called "essential tremor" (at least in spanish haha) which makes my hands less than ideal for handling tiny components and assembling them into somenthing that works.

Although the idea is interesting I don't think I'd enjoy building a watch... scratch that, I don't think I'd finish building said watch, I'd probably just get really mad and say "F this!!" lol

It would just be a Reverso with at least 100M of water resistance and a better power reserve :-) 

I'm familiar with ET, I think it's treated with well aged scotch 😎

Exactly!  I built it > AP RO

A clock is just a watch you haven’t strapped to your wrist, yet. 🧐 

I started modding/building last year and I really like it.   I have  sold a could builds and I'm considering trying to build some specifically to sell vs my own enjoyment.

My current favorite build:

Most all the parts available are NH3x types with Miyota also. Very few for 2824 applications. My next direction will be towards the better ETA quartz movements. The Chinese automatics are really not worth working with because of quality issues.

I am tempted by DIY watch club but with my fat fingers and poor eyesight (which resulted in me gouging my 5KX when I tried a simple mod), I decided I was probably safer staying away (but I still want to try).

@roberto, wow!  Thanks for the way back machine. I remember Heathkits (bought by Zenith but not the El Primero Zenith) and old homebrew computers.  I wish I would have stuck with that part of my youth instead of growing into other interests (I'd probably be retired by now).  

I'll try my best to show the pros and cons of their kit!

My doctor literally said "a drink or two can ease the symptoms", you're obliged to do as your doctor says, right? 😂

I enjoy their kits, done a couple of them.

Hell, no! We have people we pay money to, for that kind of thing!

Max! Most of us like clocks too get on it!

Man, it would be cool to build my own watch but its just I dont have both the patience and time to build one 😂

I ordered a nh35 movement and the parts for it one week ago. I can't wait to get my hands on :D

Image of me contemplating watch making as a hobby.  Circa 2022

Absolutely. I have assembled two seiko powered field watches and I’m delving into the repair and restoration of vintage watches. also on the list is building a Daniels tourbillon pocket watch from scratch, as outlined in George Daniels’ book “Watchmaking“.

Hi Max, I bought the DIY Watch Club Pro tool set. I love it and I am still in the process of building it. The instruction says it can be done in 2 hours or less. I believe that timing is for the experienced gurus such as yourself and others. I am a beginner and is taking me a lot longer. But I really enjoyed the watch making journey so far and learned a lot along the way. 
What I like:
1. Videos. (for a novice like me,it’s essential)
2. You can additionally buy custom rotors with your name or any words engraved. So what you build becomes 1 of a kind.
3. The built quality. For the pro set that I get, the tools are made with good quality, not the cheap plastic type.
4. lots of options to choose. Diver, Dress, Skeleton dial, Pilot, etc.

What I don’t like
1. The Price. I feel it is a little pricey. I paid USD409.99 for the pro set.

Actually, It comes with all the tools and watch parts you need to build the watch.