These watches always make me a little giddy. Gosh, I could never afford one, but being a watchmaker allows me the opportunity to play with these watches in a more intimate way then most of their owners do.
Rolex Daytona
Tag: Watch repair
Halios Seaforth
Maybe I’m biased, but I just love these watches. So well-made and the design is killer! This beauty came in for service and it was an absolute pleasure to work on.
When the Original seems like a Fake!
Now this is a unique story in the world of watch repair. However, I feel that over the next few years, this type of anecdote may not be such a rare occurrence. The world of counterfeit and fake watches is a billion dollar a year industry, and it is positioning itself as a very real competitor for those established and historic watch brands. In some cases, such as this, the established brand shoots itself in the foot by producing a sub-quality product under an assumed standard and the counterfeiters have no choice but to out-perform.
Waltham- Early 20th century pocket watch
This guy came across my bench with a mangled hairspring. I also found the impulse jewel to be broken off and missing. So I replaced the spring and fit a new jewel. Fitting the jewel was fun as I needed to shellac the jewel on the impulse plate. Always fun to use my staking set as well. Watching these old guys come back to life is very rewarding. The stories they could tell.
ouch! 
roller table and jewel 
roller jewel fitted 
donor hairspring 
hairspring and jewel replaced
In the beginning…
For the last 5 years, I have been honing my skills and absorbing all that is watchmaking, and over the past several months, I have taken on the task of building my own Watchmaking business. I know that the time is right for the birth of “The Dialed In Watchmaker”. This is an account of my experience thus far, starting my own workshop and watch repair business in an age of viruses and systemic societal disorders.
Which watches does a watchmaker collect? (say that 5 times)
I often get asked by people, as a watchmaker, what watches do I collect and why. We all love to talk about our watches, so I thought I’d take this as an opportunity to go in depth and talk about the watches in my very own collection. I wanted to talk about these 10 watches, how I chose them and why they’re important to me. So sit back, grab a coffee and have a go. Click on the watch you’d like to read and about, and please, let me know what you think. Happy reading!
Watch #9 – My Memosail Chronograph
This watch is now up for sale. Come visit my For Sale page for more info
It’s no secret that I love chronographs. It’s the one complication that I just can’t get enough of. There are countless variants and approaches and I love the beauty and complexity of the differing systems of levers and springs. I’m amazed at how many different styles and types of chronographs are out there. All doing a similar function of timing something. Column wheels and vertical clutches, cam systems and automatic integration. It’s poetry really.
Watch #7- My Omega Cosmic
This 1969 Omega Cosmic is the watch I wore when I got married two summers ago. Now, being a watchmaker, the choice of which watch to wear for such an important day comes with an added pressure. It’s gotta be technically advanced and socially interesting. It has to have some of my own DNA in it as well as a fresh perspective. It needs to look amazing and it needs a good story. Check!
Watch #4 My Favre Leuba
Finding yourself interested in watches has many roads. For me, it was a mechanical route as I first caught the bug from seeing a movement in an old Omega pocket watch. For some, it’s a combination of influences like style, history, and just plain coolness. It’s always an interesting conversation when someone new to the hobby questions why one watch is very expensive and a watch that seems identical or similar, is drastically cheaper. This is a question that I still can’t answer. Yes, quality in many instances, is dramatically different, but sometimes the reason cannot be rationalized. We all know that more than not, the brand on the dial is the most valuable thing.
Watch #3 – My Bulova Chronograph
Now it may appear that I am a big Bulova fan here, being that my third watch is yet another Bulova. Well, I guess you’d be correct as there are a few other vintage Bulovas that I also have my eye on. At the moment though, my collection is capped at 2.
The Dialed In Watchmaker 