How does it work exactly? Glad you asked!

First, read through the blog section, poke around the Gallery page, skim the Pricing page, then come back. I’ll wait.

Now, hopefully you have an idea for how you want your watch to look, and what you’d like it to do. Or don’t, we can do a freewheeling design, and I’m happy to answer questions and give you advice on what will work best for you and how you intend to use the watch. Time only, day, date, GMT, chronograph, skeleton, open heart, and many other options exist.

Then, go over to the “Pricing” page (again) and scroll through to get an idea for what’s available at what price points. There’s nothing worse (for either of us) than going through the entire build process, only to discover that you can’t quite swing the cost. Note that the prices are displayed as “$XXXX+“. That’s because of the incredible array of options that are available to you. More often than not, barring anything unusual, that’s the price. But if you want a really nice case, or a special complication (that’s the technical term for things beyond just hour/minute/second), or some other more expensive thing, the price will ultimately increase accordingly.

You probably noticed that it’s organized and priced by movement. The movement is the most important part of a watch. It’s what does the energy collection, storage, precise metered release for timekeeping, and what the hands and dial attach to in order to display time. It’s the heart and soul; what ultimately differentiates a good watch from one that isn’t worth your time. That’s why it’s the first decision you have to make. Parts are rarely interchangeable between movements.

After you have an idea for where you’re going, and how you want to get there, fill out the contact form with anything and everything you feel needs to be communicated to get started (don’t worry, I’ll filter and ask questions to fill in any details you may miss). I’ll respond with any information or additional questions, and from there it’s a pretty casual conversation. I’ll hunt down and provide you with options to meet your design and budget, and we’ll put the watch together on paper. The usual components that will need to be selected are the movement, case, dial, hands, and band. I’ll let you know when specific choices lead to additional costs. There will not be any surprises.

Once we have everything nailed down, I’ll send you a Commission Agreement, a Project Specification Sheet, and an invoice for the agreed amount payable by ACH bank transfer or credit card. You pay the invoice, and your watch starts heading my way bit by bit. As you may know, the watch manufacturing industry is located primarily in Europe and China. As a result, shipping can take a while. If something needs to be made special for your watch (movements are falling under this umbrella a lot lately for good and exciting reasons!).

Speaking of things happening, every part gets QC’d as it comes in. Watch parts are very small, and very fragile, and things can, do, and have happened. You know what? I screw up sometimes too. I’ve absolutely scratched a dial. I immediately informed the client, ordered a replacement (first and immediately to minimize the potential delay), did my best to fix it, failed completely, and once the replacement arrived, finished the watch immediately. Additionally, given the huge selection of parts available, I may not have had a chance to lay hands on some particular component you select, and it may not be up to snuff. Similar anecdote, I recently received a band for a watch where the clasp wasn’t at a level of quality I felt comfortable putting my name on. The pins between the folding leaves were just too loose, and it took too much effort to align the clasp while putting the watch on. I sourced and ordered a visually similar, but higher quality clasp to ensure the watch would meet the client’s expectations at no cost to the client.

Once all the parts have arrived, and everything meets expectations, assembly and regulation can begin. Expect this phase to take about a week. It’s not that it takes some hyperbolic number of hours, it’s just that at this phase of the business, I am juggling a lot of things, and need to make sure everything gets done.

When everything is buttoned up and ticking happily, I take some glamor shots to share with you and for the Gallery page/marketing, and ship the watch to you. You receive it, your expectations are exceeded, you’re thrilled and can’t wait to show your buddies/coworkers/significant other/goldfish, their reaction is just as enthusiastic, and we all live happily ever after!

Sound like a plan? Great! Head on over to the Contact page and send me a message to let me know what I can make for you!