I’m headed home from the AWCI 2011 Annual Convention and Educational Symposium. I just wanted to let all of our readers know that it has been a wonderful event. The future of the American Watchmakers-Clockmakers Institute is strong. The level of education taking place at this convention is very high. It has, as it has [...]
One of the things I really like about working on watches is discovering the hundreds of ways different companies have used to accomplish exactly the same end result. I mean for the most part these are little machines that tell time, yet there are thousands of different watch calibers which have been produced over the [...]
If you ask ten different watch manufacturers about their recommended protocol for using epilame in the servicing of a watch, you are likely to get ten different answers; even among watch brands that operate under the same parent organization. Technical documentation from one company will recommend applying epilame to components X, Y, and Z, while [...]
DO YOU LIVE AROUND PORTLAND, OR? AWCI is holding its first-ever SWAP MEET on Aug 7th, 9am-3pm. Bring your watches, clocks, tools, parts…anything related to timekeeping to BUY-SELL-TRADE. Call now to reserve your table for just $25! (Gen. Admission: $10 to non-sellers). 866-367-2924 or adunn@awci.com. HURRY! Hilton Hotel, Vancouver, WA, 301 w 6th St., Vancouver, [...]
Kello, a portable watch timing machine I built for Apple’s iOS, has been featured in an article in the July issue of International Watch Magazine. For those who may not have been able to get their hands on a physical copy of the magazine or who would like to know more than what was revealed in the article, the following excerpts are from a series of emails in which I answered questions posed by the article’s author, Sheldon Smith.
Jaeger-LeCoultre first debuted their AMVOX 2 chronograph in late 2005, in partnership with English car manufacturer Aston Martin. While most chronograph watches will use at least one or two pushers to the control the chronograph mechanism, the AMVOX 2′s innovative design uses an incognito, ‘vertical trigger’ system to engage and reset the chronograph functions of [...]
If you can’t hold out for George Daniels’ masterfully written book Watchmaking to hit North American shores on the June 21st release date that is currently advertised on Amazon, several copies of the 2011, 4th edition are available in the UK as of today, June 1st, through Jeff Formby’s Horological Book Store. This book is [...]
Most watch technicians who are familiar with the T Touch Expert, and its derivatives such as the Sea Touch and T Touch II, are aware of the diagnostic mode that can be used to calibrate and verify the timepieces’ multitude of functions. Some time ago, I discovered a similar mode by accident, for the E40 [...]
In our last post here on the blog, Roger Smith showed us how to make watch hands from raw steel. Keeping the hands of a watch well organized is also an important aspect of a watchmakers craft, particularly when it comes to more complicated watches like chronographs. Occasionally, I get watches in for service that [...]
English watchmaker, Roger W. Smith, has posted a series of videos detailing the process he uses to create the unique set of hands that have come to define his distinctive style of watchmaking. Being the only apprentice that renowned watchmaker, George Daniels, has ever taken under his wing, this short series of how-to videos is [...]
Watchmaking Books on Lulu