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Almost everyone that's not already a large company is buying components. The only truly independent watchmaker I've ever heard of machining absolutely every co

Almost everyone that's not already a large company is buying components. The only truly independent watchmaker I've ever heard of machining absolutely every component is Masahiro Kikuno.

joshvm 2y ago
I found a good channel called Chronova Engineering who made a few videos about machining the mechanisms by hand. They use a couple of off the shelf parts like tiny ball bearings for the demonstrator (instead of jewels), but almost everything else is hand-turned. https://youtu.be/P7SlhdJp5qE?si=wSsz26SdgOKQqGBW https://youtu.be/P7SlhdJp5qE?si=wSsz26SdgOKQqGBW
rwmj 2y ago
Roger Smith (based in the Isle of Man) makes them from scratch. A bit pricey to say the least: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-isle-of-man-65903947 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-isle-of-man-65903947
- dismalaf 2y ago
  Very cool. Both his story and that of his master.
Cthulhu_ 2y ago
I've seen a documentary (youtube video) about this guy, he spends six months to a year building a single watch from his apartment workshop. Sure, each one will sell for several grand if not millions now that he's more well known, but still, that's some serious dedication to a craft.
devin 2y ago
Even the main spring? For some of the components it seems like a significant sacrifice in quality to make it yourself. I appreciate people can make their own, but I also think the obsession some folks have with in house movements is misplaced.
- lb1lf 2y ago
  As for obsession with in-house movements, I like to observe to the obsessed that the most in-house brand of them all are... ...Seiko. They even make their own lubricants. (Wearing a nifty Seiko as I type this, but also own a handful of other Japanese, Swiss and German watches.)
  - dismalaf 2y ago
    Seikos are extremely underrated. Also most people don't know, but they even make watches as intricate as the most expensive Swiss brands. Like this one which retails for a cool $365,000 USD: https://www.grand-seiko.com/us-en/collections/slgt005g https://www.grand-seiko.com/us-en/collections/slgt005g Or you can get a nice everyday mechanical watch for as little as a couple hundred.
    - kazinator 2y ago
      Also a Seiko fan here. I posted this several years ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32447630 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32447630 (link no longer works)
    - fennecbutt 2y ago
      Seikos are great. I just wish they'd put spring drive into a lot of their cheaper watches. The majority of expensive watches, even handmade, are only so expensive because of brand...or the fact that the case is solid fucking platinum/gold. That's cheating!
- quickthrowman 2y ago
  Right. Even George Daniels bought mainsprings and hairsprings (along with sapphire crystals and dial engraving, probably rose engine work?) for his 25 handmade watches. > In total he (George Daniels) created 25 handmade watches which were completely made by himself (23 pocket watches and 2 wristwatches) other than the crystal, the mainspring, the engraving of the dials and the hairspring. One pocket watch remains incomplete and is not included in this total number of pocket watches produced by George Daniels. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Daniels_(watchmaker) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Daniels_(watchmaker)

Almost everyone that's not already a large company is buying components. The only truly independent watchmaker I've ever heard of machining absolutely every component is Masahiro Kikuno.

joshvm 2y ago

I found a good channel called Chronova Engineering who made a few videos about machining the mechanisms by hand. They use a couple of off the shelf parts like tiny ball bearings for the demonstrator (instead of jewels), but almost everything else is hand-turned. https://youtu.be/P7SlhdJp5qE?si=wSsz26SdgOKQqGBW https://youtu.be/P7SlhdJp5qE?si=wSsz26SdgOKQqGBW

rwmj 2y ago

Roger Smith (based in the Isle of Man) makes them from scratch. A bit pricey to say the least: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-isle-of-man-65903947 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-isle-of-man-65903947

dismalaf 2y ago
Very cool. Both his story and that of his master.

Cthulhu_ 2y ago

I've seen a documentary (youtube video) about this guy, he spends six months to a year building a single watch from his apartment workshop. Sure, each one will sell for several grand if not millions now that he's more well known, but still, that's some serious dedication to a craft.

devin 2y ago

Even the main spring? For some of the components it seems like a significant sacrifice in quality to make it yourself. I appreciate people can make their own, but I also think the obsession some folks have with in house movements is misplaced.

lb1lf 2y ago
As for obsession with in-house movements, I like to observe to the obsessed that the most in-house brand of them all are... ...Seiko. They even make their own lubricants. (Wearing a nifty Seiko as I type this, but also own a handful of other Japanese, Swiss and German watches.)
- dismalaf 2y ago
  Seikos are extremely underrated. Also most people don't know, but they even make watches as intricate as the most expensive Swiss brands. Like this one which retails for a cool $365,000 USD: https://www.grand-seiko.com/us-en/collections/slgt005g https://www.grand-seiko.com/us-en/collections/slgt005g Or you can get a nice everyday mechanical watch for as little as a couple hundred.
  - kazinator 2y ago
    Also a Seiko fan here. I posted this several years ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32447630 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32447630 (link no longer works)
  - fennecbutt 2y ago
    Seikos are great. I just wish they'd put spring drive into a lot of their cheaper watches. The majority of expensive watches, even handmade, are only so expensive because of brand...or the fact that the case is solid fucking platinum/gold. That's cheating!
quickthrowman 2y ago
Right. Even George Daniels bought mainsprings and hairsprings (along with sapphire crystals and dial engraving, probably rose engine work?) for his 25 handmade watches. > In total he (George Daniels) created 25 handmade watches which were completely made by himself (23 pocket watches and 2 wristwatches) other than the crystal, the mainspring, the engraving of the dials and the hairspring. One pocket watch remains incomplete and is not included in this total number of pocket watches produced by George Daniels. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Daniels_(watchmaker) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Daniels_(watchmaker)