Reddit mentions of Watchmaking

I'll take your downvotes, you people who didn't even bother to respond.

Here's a copy/paste of my previous responses, which were generally well received.

You'll need to grasp the basics first, and there is nothing more fundamental to a mechanical wristwatch than the escapement. It's a bit technical, but I highly recommend The Watch Escapement by Henry Fried. It's a bargain under 20 dollars, though I have seen it for less on occasion.

For just about everything else, I highly recommend Watchmaking by George Daniels I know it seems pricy at 60 bucks, but I assure you that it is a tome well worth having. Daniels was and is, in my interactions with other watchmakers, considered a bit of a controversial genius.

Now, as for non-print learning media, The Watch Repair Channel is pretty great for repair instruction on vintage and modern watches as well as basic education on the parts and functioning of mechanical watches in general. As far as the artistry goes, I highly recommend both R. W. Smith's Channel ( He was apprenticed to George Daniels. ), and Steffen Pahlow's Channel, as both are master craftsmen in their own right.

Start with this video. It should give you a basic understanding. "How a watch works" presented by the Hamilton Watch Company. I don't recommend getting the Daniels' book until later. Rather, you should probably start with something like [this. This is part of the Joseph Bulova School of Watchmaking training manual]

Depends on how you want to approach it. The traditional way is documented in this book. If you want to see it demonstrated, this is a clockmaking video, but the fundamental techniques are similar. This touches on what the approach looks like if you use CNC machines.

Everyone who wants to know EXACTLY how and why this works needs to find a copy of Watchmaking by George Daniels, amazon.

This is THE book on watchmaking, the guy who wrote it invented the first new escapement in 100 years. The book is worth the read even if you will never cut a gear in your life, it's a lifetime of work distilled to 300 pages.

You're going to need this: https://www.amazon.com/Watchmaking-George-Daniels/dp/0856677043

excellent book by the world famous watchmaker George Daniels: Watchmaking

You'd probably have better luck in /r/WatchHorology.

In my own experience, a good way to start working with watches and ease into watchmaking is to modify stock watches — if you haven't already looked into watch modding, you should definitely start there. It gives you the benefit of starting your watch build with a full set of parts and substituting only what you decide to change. Most people start by modding Seiko 5's, which are cheap, have extremely reliable automatic movements and many aftermarket parts, and are widely available. Additionally, there are very lengthy guides (e.g. 1, 2) available freely on the internet.

Check out the work of /u/crappysurfer, who started out modding Seikos and is about to launch his first collection, the Orion.

EDIT: Also check out George Daniels' book, Watchmaking. It is very thorough, and it should address most of your questions.

Just about everyone is going to recommend Watchmaking by George Daniels as it is widely regarded as one of the best and most informative reads on watchmaking and horology. I'd say that is the best read to get you started, after that there are plenty of others.

How about a classic book on watchmaking: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0856677043

One I got when it finally came back out after being out of print for so long is George Daniels' "Watchmaking". Delves into the intricacies of watches, the maths of them, and is a must for any hardcore watch nerd.

Timezone Watch School is a start.

That, plus George Daniels 'Watchmakimg' would be a good start if you want to go the DIY route.

Look up Roland Murphy, Keaton Myrick, and anyone from the AHCI for inspiration.

If you want to go to a proper school, Lititz Technicum, IOSW in Dallas, OSU's program, North Seattle Community College, and Paris Texas are all programs to look into (though they focus more on repair as opposed to fabrication).


Good luck!

To learn beginning to end:

Watchmaking https://www.amazon.com/dp/0856677043/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_FmYvybRK27DGS

You can start with this: http://www.amazon.com/Watchmaking-George-Daniels/dp/0856677043

>So there are some ideas to get you started. As for education, horological theory and that kind of thing, the textbook that is used in many of the American watchmaking schools is The Theory of Horology - it might be a little overkill but there's some decent information in there.


I didn't knew that this book (the only one we had to buy as student in designing watch movement) was translated in English ! Nice to know...

You can browse this amazing list of mechanical movement with pics to find out who made what.

And if you want to know how to make a traditional watch, here is The Book (George Daniels - Watchmaking), but it's more technical stuff.

If you want to go deeper in watchmaking theory, this one, but it's only in French...

http://www.amazon.com/Watchmaking-George-Daniels/dp/0856677043/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1415374238&sr=8-1&keywords=watchmaking

George Daniels' "Watchmaking": https://www.amazon.com/Watchmaking-George-Daniels/dp/0856677043

(non-affiliate link!)

Watchmaking https://www.amazon.com/dp/0856677043/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_zy96AbKN8XGKW

I recommend doing a bit of research on George Daniels if you've never heard of him. His book is a bit expensive, but Daniels was known for constructing entire watches by himself, and was respected as one of the best in the world. His book basically explains how to build a watch from scratch. However, to my knowledge he only worked with wristwatches.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0856677043/ref=cm_sw_r_an_am_ap_am_gb?ie=UTF8

I have seen people design and build watches from scratch using this as entirely an inspiration, a guide, and a reference. It is not an easy read, and it is full on, but you know it is by the best... You will need to invest in some tooling, but it will discuss what you need in there...

In addition to the suggestions already given below:

George Daniels not only wrote Watchmaking which is considered highly influential among independent watchmakers but also The Art of Breguet which is a guide through an extensive private collection of Bregeut timepieces and is considered the most important work about Breguet - with accompanying high resolution photos and expert analysis.

Daniels also penned The Practical Watch Escapement as a visual aid when he was trying to sell his co-axial escapement to Swiss manufacturers. It's a good book that describes many different kinds of escapements and their history of development.

While you're at it you might as well pick up Daniels' autobiography entitled All in Good Time: Reflections of a Watchmaker although it's horological importance is rather minute.

If horological theory is your interest then The Theory of Horology is the textbook for watchmaking courses in the United States and elsewhere.

But holy 75 dollars, batman

Read Daniels' Watchmaking. It'll teach you everything you need to know to machine a watch by hand, and in the process what you'll need to know to draw one up.

If you're dead-set on CNCing it (which makes sense in today's day and age) you can google "micromachining shops" - there are at least a few in each metro area.