To make or not to make, that’s the question?

I love the idea! I also like the idea of one day building my own Rolex. I’d use all Rolex parts and choose the case I like, bracelet I like, the movement, the dial, etc.

It wouldn’t matter to me what it’s worth or that it’s not original. I would just wear it.

This is a slippery slope, and much more difficult than it use to be. The problem with Rolexes, Omegas, and other like brands is that the watches themselves are often cheaper than the sum of their parts. If you were to try to build a Seamaster, for instance, you are looking at:

1. Movement (let's say an 1120) $500

2. Case (assuming you could find one?) $???

3. Bezel/Insert $200

4. Dial $500

5. Hands $100

6. Bracelet $500

Even without the case/Crystal, you are looking at $1800 in parts, which is a few hundred short of the actual watch on the used market. Rolex numbers will be far worse and parts will be less plentiful.

That said, I did recently build a Franken Omega at around $500, but the only actual Omega part was the dial. I used an ETA movement, Chinese no name case and rubber strap, and aftermarket sapphire crystal, hands, and bezel insert.

You bring up a valid point. I'm mostly looking to get into watch making because I love mechanical tinkering, and because I figured it would help lower the cost of ownership of my watches.

I did buy an old Omega pocket watch but upon further inspection is is much to complicated for me to start with. I'm missing the second hand, the crown, and the balance wheel will likely need a new pivot. On the plus side though, the dial has a gorgeous patina. As I dive into watch making, I told myself that the day I get the watch running I will buy a case for it as a reward, as it also has no case. The movement and dial are only 35mm in diameter though, so I've thought about actually using the pocket watch as a wrist watch.

Seiko parts are the low hanging fruits above a big rabbit hole. Easy, plentiful and affordable. The classes are a valuable social exercise with watches added. The watch community is as much about the people as it is the watches. Someday the Swiss movements but try the quartz next as they are fun too.

I answered yes, but I would not pay someone money to show me how to put a watch together. The knowledge base required is freely available online: practice is what you need. From a purely technical side, I would recommend buying the cheapest automatic watch on AliExpress, taking it completely apart, and putting it back together again. You will make some mistakes, learn a ton, and it won't matter because it is a throw away watch.

Once you build up some skill, you can actually build a watch: Either a Mod watch (seiko) or a franken watch (watch put together from OEM parts of one or more brands, from one or model models)

This is a slippery slope, and much more difficult than it use to be. The problem with Rolexes, Omegas, and other like brands is that the watches themselves are often cheaper than the sum of their parts. If you were to try to build a Seamaster, for instance, you are looking at:

1. Movement (let's say an 1120) $500

2. Case (assuming you could find one?) $???

3. Bezel/Insert $200

4. Dial $500

5. Hands $100

6. Bracelet $500

Even without the case/Crystal, you are looking at $1800 in parts, which is a few hundred short of the actual watch on the used market. Rolex numbers will be far worse and parts will be less plentiful.

That said, I did recently build a Franken Omega at around $500, but the only actual Omega part was the dial. I used an ETA movement, Chinese no name case and rubber strap, and aftermarket sapphire crystal, hands, and bezel insert.

I've heard the horology field is in need of young blood so I think these classes are an awesome gateway to something that can be even bigger than just another hobby for people. It's something I would love to try, that's for sure.

I'm not interested in it personally, for a variety of reasons, so that's a no from me. But vitally a no doesn't mean, "No one should do it!" I think anyone with an interest in this area would eat it up. But, for me, putting little parts together and having a bit of patience was never a strong suit! :)