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The Bespoke Carbon Fiber Watch

I always liked that oh-so-British term of bespoke, but never got to use it before.

It struck me that making a watch out of carbon might not be all that difficult. It certainly wouldn't require all that much material to give it a shot, so I started to plan out how that could be accomplished. A few parts might be a bit fiddly, but on the whole I'm thinking it wouldn't be horribly hard to put together. My plan at the moment is this (all subject to change):

1. Purchase a cheap watch with the rough size I would like. This donor will be disassembled and contribute it's glass crystal, movement, and possibly the band.

2. Take apart that watch and investigate how the face and movement are mounted in the case. Take some measurements off it to determine an overall width/height/depth of the main case.

3. Form a small block of carbon to create a chunk big enough to encompass my new case design. Simultaneously form a 2-layer carbon or fiberglass sheet to create the face from.

4. Cut face hole.

5. Hand shape the overall profile of the watch case to get the look and curve I want. Precisely cut areas for the band to mount.

6. Test fit the front crystal, then move to the backside to prepare the case for mounting of the face and movement.

7. Create screw down back plate, probably from sheet titanium that I already have. Flame anodize, drill holes for screws.

8. Epoxy glass crystal to case front, insert face/movement into case, screw down back, attach band.

Voila! Sounds pretty easy, actually. Hmm...I'm going to have to try this...

AND! We begin:

I found a cheap (very very very cheap) watch at Target. It's a complete piece of junk, really, but is roughly the size I'd like, has a square face (which I wanted to do) and has hands that are close to what I wanted. So, I pulled out my watch repair kit and got to work taking it apart. Parts I think I will use include the stainless steel back (though I will machine off the current markings, and possibly drill holes for mounting instead of trying to press fit it. I will use the quartz movement and mounting plate, though I will do my own face. I'll use the crown, since that's a fiddly small part that I can't really create. Finally, I'll use the crystal (if I can figure out how to separate it from the case body.

Some internet research has revealed that the watch I bought has a Hattori Japan Quartz Movement PC21, which costs an eye-watering $5.50 online. Wow! I also discovered that you can purchase real sapphire crystals for about $10. That might be a very good solution, as the cheap watch I got no doubt has a much softer mineral crystal which is more prone to scratching. One place is also selling mechanical movements for less than $20. That sounds appealing, but I think I'm going to stick to the quartz one I have, since it will be reliable and already has the mounting plate and crown, ready to go.

Starting the Carbon:

So the first few steps are pretty easy. First, I took a moment to sand down the existing face so that I could cover it in carbon. It's the nice shiny brass piece. Then, I cut out some carbon squares (2 for the face, and about 30 for the case body) and mixed up some epoxy and started laying things out.

I've got a big hunk of carbon ready for the case, but the first steps are going to involve getting the face assembled. I applied two layers of carbon to the existing brass face and covered with epoxy. The picture below is from directly after that step. I've already started to sand that down, to not only smooth it but to give the "blended carbon" look. I'm not sure if that is an accepted term, but I use it to describe when you do carbon fiber layup and then machine and/or sand into the layers, which causes them to blend and not be in the normal perfect square weave style. I think the blend looks pretty cool. You'll be able to see that more clearly once the face gets some more work done on it, which hopefully will be soon.

I've made some more progress, seen in the second picture above. The face is coming along nicely. I drilled the center hole for the mechanism, and also drilled four indentations for the primary hour indicators. I filled those with red model paint, and once they are fully dry I will sand the entire face flush and put a gloss clearcoat over the entire thing. You can also see the set of hands, which I painted red as well. The watch will be basically all black/gray, so I wanted to add one little splash of color.

You can also see a rough mockup of the overall shape. I have narrow wrists, so I designed it at a size that works well for me, but kept the watch a little chunkier so that it has some nice visual weight. On the right side of the watch, the crown is actually going to be hidden. I'm going to drill out an access to it from the underside, but the top side will maintain it's surface, so when viewing from the top you won't see the crown at all. I'm also going to machine in a slight stepped profile to the top.

My plan is to use a 20mm band, and there are some cool leather ones that have a carbon-fiber pattern to them, which I think will work very well. If I can find one of those with red stitching, that would be perfect. (Well, that wasn't hard...)

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