Thanks to some kind relatives, I got enrolled in the Time Zone Watch School last year, level one. (Sounds vaguely Harry Potter, doesn’t it?) TZWS, as its known, is an at-home self-paced class where you buy the parts and tools to disassemble and then assemble a watch. It’s pretty basic, the movement arrives almost completely intact, and you choose case and such. However, you do get to do quite a bit, tearing down and reassembling is quite intricate and you learn more than you’d think. (See old posts here and here for a bit more.)

Yesterday and today I assembled it and cased it up, check it out:

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I got 2 or 3 dials and 3 sets of hands with the kit, so when I get level 2 of TZWS I’ll probably change them both. I liked how this came together, though.

It was a good thing that I had previously ordered 2824 stems for JP, though, as I made errors trimming the stem. It’s tricky, even with a micrometer, and I might have to go back once more and try again.

TZWS is amazing, and I highly recommend it. You hafta buy a bunch of tools (all hail Bergeon!) but they’re first-rate and you can use them for years. The unexpected benefit to me is the very Zen nature of the work: You have to be utterly focused, unhurried and gentle. It’s very relaxing, which I didn’t expect. Rewarding, too, and you get to have this wonderful little machine with you all the time that makes you smile whenever you see it!