I have realized that I got to a point where I could potentially make my own watch. By that I don’t mean design my own movement, but do as much as most watch companies would do, which is:
- design and make the dial,
- make the indices, logo and hands,
- 3D design the case and have it 3D printed,
- finish the case by hand,
- modify the movement bridges and
- refinish the movement (frosting surfaces, beveling, polishing the bevels).
To be able to make my own watch, there was however a number of techniques I had to be able to use, if not master. I list below all the techniques I think I will need and I will make dedicated pages for some of them to explain what I did as I realized that the knowledge about them is mostly passed orally through apprenticeships and there aren’t many written or video explanations.
Dial
- Frosting or graining, which will also be used on the movement bridges
- Silvering brass
- Printing on metal, both smooth and frosted, using decal paper
- Cutting brass using a jeweler’s saw
- Gluing metal for a multi-layered dial and for the hour markers
Indices, logo and hands
- Cutting stainless steel
- Beveling and polishing tiny components
- Making precision holes
- Using a reamer
- Potentially making pins to better anchor the indices
- Heat-blueing metal
Designing the case
- Being able to use a CAD software
- Designing the case (with movement leg recess, precise stem hole, gasket recess for the dial, screw thread for the screw-down back)
Finishing the case
- Eliminating production marks
- Straight graining (satin) some surfaces, polishing others
Modifying the movement bridges
- Cutting the bridges with precision
- Drilling the bridges and using the jeweler’s saw within a closed surface to skeletonize some bridges
- Straight-graining the flanks
Finishing the movement
- Creating and polishing bevels
- Frosting/graining the top surfaces
Servicing the movement
- Cleaning the parts
- Oiling the parts
- Reassembling the movement
- Adjusting the movement
- Testing the movement