While I don't think cheaper precision milling will ever build an environment where making a watch is a whole lot easier, I do think it's already driving an envi

While I don't think cheaper precision milling will ever build an environment where making a watch is a whole lot easier, I do think it's already driving an environment where building a mid-volume independent mechanical watch company is much cheaper. I don't think we'll see individuals CNCing movements they download online anytime in the near future, especially due to the skill and practice required to simply assemble a movement even once it's designed and machined. However, the falling price of commercial-scale high-precision CNC is already causing changes in the industry. Comparatively small brands like NOMOS are able to bring manufacturing in-house without raising their cost to hand-machined levels - a move which can be attributed directly to cheaper precision milling. Swatch's ability to phase-out ETA ébauche sales and the growing popularity of Asian clone-movements as well as Sellita's production ramp-up can be attributed directly to cheaper precision milling as well. I suspect that horological innovation will increase in the next few years as smaller companies are able to manufacture interesting movements at scale without charging the hand-made costs that independent watchmakers and haute horology brands have demanded in the past, and the ETA phase-out leads manufacturers to consider in-house production over ébauche purchase.