My DIY Watch

last updated 11 February, 2010

I became interested in watches via an odd, back-door route. After decades of caring nothing at all for them, I suddenly fell into the hobby one day.. as the result of reading a science fiction novel!

Re-reading, actually. I'm an avid SF reader, and William Gibson is one of my favorite authors. The novel in question, "All Tomorrows Parties", is his best work since "Neuromancer", in my humble opinion, and watches figure prominently in the story. That aspect didn't hit me on the first couple of readings, but upon rereading it in the fall of 2003, something clicked. I decided that I really, really needed a vintage Jaeger-LeCoultre Mark XI wristwatch, preferably a 1953 RAAF issue. Upon researching that particular watch, I discovered that the price of entry was $2K+ or so for a mediocre example, and $3K+ for a nice one. Out of my league by an order of magnitude.

If you've read my bio page, you know that I'm an NC Programmer by trade, and also an experienced machinist. I've long respected clock & watch-makers since they are, historically (along with gunsmiths), directly responsible for the current state-of-the-art in precision machining. So the solution was obvious - make my own home-grown clone!

I researched the Mk. XI (long hours poring over 'net photos & specs under a 'scope), generated a CAD model, and from that point it was no different than my daily work routine. It was great fun using my professional skills on a hobby project.. I rarely get to do so!

	The RickyWatch series A (mostly) complete photo essay covering the major variants in the RickyWatch series.
	The RickyWatch Version 1.x Getting my feet wet in watchmaking...
	The RickyWatch Version 2.x The second batch, machined a week after the first.
	The RickyWatch Automatic -Preliminaries I originally planned on having the dial from the Eza donor custom painted, as pictured. However, I was so keen to get the watch assembled that this didn't happen. Perhaps one day...
	The RickyWatch Automatic - Unveiling, movement info Note that the text in this article was not actually written at the time of the unveiling of this watch. Alas, those PMWF posts were lost. Rather, the text comes from a thread with Reto Castellazi 6 months later, where we discussed the Hermann Becker HB313 movement. The pictures, however, are the first ones actually taken after I recieved the watch back from the watchmaker.
	The RickyWatch Automatic - Bracelet swap, new photos The watch is still on the Vollmer bracelet, as pictured here.
	The Shiny RickyWatch - version 1.62A/B/C I've had two different Timex handwind movements in this case (versions A and B), and it's now running a generic quartz movement as pictured (version C). I'm not done yet, either! Still not totally happy with the purple dial, so there'll be a version D down the road sometime. Also a teaser for a totally different variant, an in-progress version 1.06 case which will use a hi-dome acrylic crystal for a retro vibe. Stay tuned!
	The RickyWatch Retro- version 1.06B This one features a hi-dome acrylic crystal for that Vintage look and feel. The most basic of the Watch-It line, their 3-handers were powered by the ubiquitous SII PC21 quartz module. IOW the same durned quartz module you'll find in many a watch costing $250 and up! = :-0 So, despite hearing Watch-It decried as "Wal-Mart crap", this reinforces my original decision to use them as ebauches. Both handy and thrifty, yet internals of a reasonable quality. ;-)
	The RickyWatch version 2.00W aka The Ricky FieldWatch This one came together so fortuitously, it could only be fate. It was, in a funny sort of way, built around that olive green NATO strap...
	Links for further reading Francis Chang's Mark XI page. Carlos Perez's erudite and rather metaphysical article at TZ. A PMWF collaborative thread for the (proposed) custom dial. Dave Murphy's PMWF thread about custom watch cases. Hermann Becker HB313 movement on The Metatechnical Cabinet