This week will be a series of helpful information about watchmaking! Our first post will be about helpful tips to keep in mind when watchmaking, followed by a post on the helpful tools needed for it. Watchmaking can be a stressful and difficult task to accomplish, but it comes with a great reward and experience. Below are some tips to help you in your watchmaking adventures.
1. Work for more than one sitting
Watchmaking is not a short process where you put a movement into a case and you are done. It is so much more than that and if you go in expecting a short and easy process, you will want to quit in the first hour. Watchmaking can take a few hours to a few days depending on the complexity of the watch being tinkered with. One good idea is to parcel the time over a few days to make sure you are sharp and ready to build the watch at all times. Most importantly, it is fine to take a break and return later – the watch will still be ready for building no matter the time of day.
2. Always wear gloves
This cannot be understated of its importance when watchmaking. The inner workings of a watch are very fragile and susceptible to the oils in your skin. Without proper measures, the watch you spent hours working on can be ruined by not wearing gloves. Wearing gloves can be tough for some people, but the watch could be destroyed without them. For those who really despise gloves, finger cots can be a replacement.
3. Work slowly and carefully
This should seem obvious at this point. The watch parts that you are going to be working with are very fragile and can easily be bent, smudge, or scratched with rushed work. Remember that the watchmaking process should not be short. The longer the better, so you can make sure all parts of the watch are correctly and carefully placed. One broken part and the whole operation is in jeopardy. Patience is key.
4. Understand the parts you are building with
It can be difficult to understand why each part fits where it does and why it does, but understanding the inner workings of your watch can be key to expanding your watchmaking hobby. Understand why each part of the watch makes the watch tick can allow you to realize what faults may arise and how to fix them. It should also ensure you keep a slow and careful process by understanding the fragileness of the parts.
5. Have fun!
What’s been laid out so far can be daunting and far from encouraging, but remember watchmaking is a hobby and meant to be fun! After the first few mistakes, you’ll become better at the hobby. Remember to have fun with the process. It can be very rewarding to build and then wear a watch.
If you want to get started on your own watchmaking hobby go check out our store today to get your hands on a Rotate Watches Watchmaking kit!