The thread felt as if full of grains of sand, with its own plastic crystal spinning in place, though admittedly not falling out. Free from the shackles of its plastic crystal, I carefully flipped the watch over in order to screw in the caseback. Putting the movement and dial into the case was simple enough, with the replacement crown the finishing touch once in place. I certainly left some room for improvement as I didn’t want to use up all my talent in one fell swoop, but hey – still better aligned than Ming x Massena Lab ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. Whether due to my incredible ability as a watchmaker, or the relative simplicity of these hands, I was able to set them with no issues whatsoever. Before putting it all into the case, I steeled myself for the step that even the most experienced fear – handsetting. The dial was fairly simple to install, though there was a bit of play even when the dial feet were sat correctly. While I’m not crazy about open hearts, I definitely see how it would appeal to someone building their very first watch. Moving onto the dial and hands, I’ve got to say I quite like the sunburst effect of the dial. It took more fiddling than I thought would be necessary, but eventually, I got the movement in place. The kit provided a replacement engraved crown and stem which was already cut to size, my experience with modding SKXs to fit NH36 movements taught me to be thankful for that. By pushing on a button nearby, it slid out with no issues. I moved on to installing the plastic movement holder, which required removing the stem first. It’s a sensible choice for a first DIY attempt due to its simplicity. The Miyota 8S20 comes well-packaged and with some minimal striping decoration. It seems that the crystal did come pre-installed, but simply detached itself while the kit was sitting in our office, as I could not get it sitting tight, and not for lack of trying. Faced with the bridge I left for myself to cross, I realised that I won’t be fitting a crystal today. I wanted to install the crystal so the case is ready before moving on to the movement and handsetting. With no screws and a plastic movement holder, this should be a walk in the park, right? Granted, the instructions are thorough and simple to follow, but I thought it’d be more fun going in raw. You’re required to provide personal information such as your email to access the video instructions, which I’m not really a fan of. Since this was a beginner kit, it came with some handy instructions that you could access by scanning a QR code. With all the tools and parts laid out, it was time to roll up the finger cots and get to work. With no crystal press, I wasn’t sure how I’ll get it re-fitted, but I decided crossing that bridge was a future-me problem. As I was removing the protective plastic, however, the crystal immediately popped off. Note – self-supplied screwdriver used to slice an impossibly tiny yet tough piece of tapeĪ plastic movement holder popped right out, along with a very simple 38mm stainless-steel case, with screw-down caseback and plastic crystal. The missing screwdriver was foreshadowing what’s to come, which was confirmed once I removed the watch components from the smaller box. A few more tidbits hid in the cardboard box, namely a smushed thing of Rodico-like stuff and finger cots, some of which were conveniently pre-torn. Having experienced the importance of a high-quality screwdriver after some particularly bad stripping issues (still talking watchmaking here, calm down), this was a surprise. Taking a closer look at the tools that were included, we’ve got all the classics, with one notable omission. Remembering the story on iPhone magnets affecting the accuracy of watches, this worried me greatly. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, a magnet centimetres away from the delicate mechanical movement sitting in the other box. With no clear latch or mechanism to open it, I realised that the lid is kept shut by a fairly strong magnet. The larger box, however, is where it already starts to unravel. The smaller of the two contained all the components of the watch, each contained further in smaller cardboard boxes. It started off well, with two neatly packaged boxes. I didn’t expect this to be too technically challenging, which was a good prediction, though it never prepared me for the mental gymnastics required to put this together. For a bit of background information, I’ve delved with watch tinkering on a very basic level – regulating them with the help of a timegrapher and some minimal cleaning and replacing of worn parts. Thankfully, I went in with no expectations whatsoever, yet came out of the process highly amused, if somewhat disappointed. If so, this DIY watch kit is not what you’re after. I/trending 26456 The unfortunate story of a DIY watch kit Borna BošnjakĮver fancied making your own watch, with specifications exactly as you’d want them? I certainly have.
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