Hi Everyone,
Not sure this is the most appropriate place to put this one, so will be guided by the moderators. From my reading, I hope I am not transgressing any rules.
This is a watch I designed and built at home. I call it the F3. It’s for my Great Nephew’s 21st Birthday and was a good opportunity to try out some techniques I have developed and some ideas on putting a simple centre second watch together. My purpose is to get to the level of a chronograph next, using a simple ETA 7750 movement. For now though, this is at the limit of my abilities and equipment.
Don’t laugh too hard when you take a look at the pics below, as its only my third attempt to build a watch.
Essentially, it’s an ETA 2824-2 movement with a sterile face and luminous hand. The black Bregeut second hand with luminous dot is totally weird on a black background, when it is moving (looks like a planet moving across the heavens). But that’s something I would change next time (Black hands on a black face-Oh dear). Pics are a bit deceptive, as the case is very deep at about 16mm. An issue of fitting the rotating bezel mechanicals over the case mule was the cause. The watch is about 42mm wide x 48mm long.
The case was machined on a small hobby lathe, the dynamic case shape took a bit of figuring but was achieved similar to machining cam lobes (with an independent 4 jaw chuck). The bezel rotates and has been machined to fit a homage submariner chapter ring.
The protected crown is a screw in arrangement and a first for me. Not shown here for upload reasons is the case back. It has a small exhibition window, which is OK, but could have been bigger. I restricted the size of the glass, but could have been a little more daring.
Not very clear here is the machined through lugs to accept spring bars. I can’t machine inside the lugs, as that’s a stage too far for me and my modest equipment and budget. So its machined from the outside.
Thanks for looking and I hope you enjoy my first real watch creation. I appreciate your expert comments.
Jim
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