Which, I will openly acknowledge, is basically the new skymall. If my kids wouldn’t just swallow the pieces, I might have backed it. After finding this, I found a number of other potential options. So now I’m going to find something that I might be able to do with the children. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/rotate/rotate-build-your-own-mechanical-watch
Do you think a kit like this is a good way for a beginner to understand how to take a sophisticated watch apart? I Imagine it might be like learning car maintenance by taking a lawnmower engine to pieces.
It seemed more like a way to get a guided taste. I would think it would take a lot more training/equipment and education for anything more. I changed the title to something more appropriate. Seems more like assembly.
I watched part of the video...OMG...looking at how she handles the movement, handles the dial and hands...no finger cots, bare fingers all over everything. I can't imagine the instructions they give you are based in any sound watchmaking principles based on that video...
Perhaps it’s a signal that there is a partially tapped interest in mechanical watches—or just that people like slick marketing.
Not sure I would think it’s true interest being that it’s kickstarter and people are intentionally seeking out watches unless you are referring to to other online advertising I’m not aware of. Either way it is an interesting idea and I must admit I’m thinking about it myself.
If you choose the Wright kit you get the classical look of a strap that is 2 mm. short ! Great ! 1 min.47 sec.
I didn’t look into it enough yet didn’t see that kinda funny. I’ve ordered some KS things, mainly playing cards when I was much more into magic tricks sometimes when the project is complete and delivery times are expected being short 2mm wouldn’t be bad considering the amount of people who never received anything. Hopefully that is not as much of an issue with KS these days.
So many things wrong with the whole campaign (read: gross misrepresentation). The parts are very clearly cheap and nasty. Anyone notice the complete absence of even a quick glimpse of the parts inside the movement? If I was selling a "kit" I'd want to show off the components. I'd bet good money that there's no mention of any oiling in the instructions either. The various "styles" are just different colours, everything else is the same. Faux leather straps? Argh!
They only have one crown? I think there's more marketing than horological expertise possessed by the "artisans and tinkerers".
So $170 gets you a case, hands, and Chinese ETA 6497/8 clone. Around $70 will get you the whole lot pre-assembled. Maybe I should start buying Seiko 5s, pull them apart and sell them for double the price?
If you able to write a BS Campaign with ridiculous claims and lack any moral standards, that's the way to go.
This thread reminds me of a time my brother and I made our own watches when we were young kids. The hands were pins stolen from my Mum’s sewing box attached with glue, and the movements were cut out of pieces of cardboard. My recollection is that we thought they were really cool, but they kept terrible time...not completely inaccurate though, they were spot on twice a day.
That’s true you can find similar kits with instructions cheaper using seiko movements. Nonetheless It obviously interested several people.