I have been engaged in the watchmaking industry for almost seven years, so I’d like to share my experience with you and some of the works that are quite good.
Below is Something I learned, of the watchmaking experience:
To tell whether a watch is good or bad, you need to check the whole watch;
you can not just look at a certain aspect, but also look at some of the ungood areas, so also check the watch accessories,
If all are good, this brand watch maybe a perfect watch brand. (Brand history and movement are not yet considered)
Let’s talking details of the each important parts, the manufacturing details needed,
Watch Case Watchmaking :
Whether the case is well made or bad depends more on the appearance of the polishing treatment。
The high factory production requirements for the case are: the brush line is smooth and not sharp, which means that you need to ensure the clarity of the brushed lines and can not scratch the hand.
(the current machining equipment is more advanced than before, so the structural tolerances are well controlled (generally 3-5c)), the details should handle well, such as the polish of the surface being good, the corner area having no burr, and also handle well of the original blank case pattern of the inner side case lug area
Dial Details:
2 different places to tell if the dial is good or bad.
On the one hand, the good artwork of the dial is: ( effects generally are velvet black, matte black, semi-light, semi-matte black, enamel black), no white spots, no scratches on the good;
The other hand is the artwork of the hour marker; the hour marker is generally divided into printing marking and index;
Make sure the hour markers print in a 3D feeling, and plumpy.
When printing the luminous effect, we will take ink as a basement, so make sure the basement oil is at the right size, can’t be too big, and the print is in the middle,no offset.
For the Index plating, make sure it is good and has no pockmarks.
If it is diamond-cut hands, the diamond-cut hands should be flat with right angles,
If it is polished hands, the polished hands are plumpy, And if the hands with luminous, the luminous oil should be flat and even.
The logo and second marking line printing should be neat, can not break the line, if zoom in, you can have a slightly three-dimensional feel.
Watch Hands:
Check the three areas to see if the hands are good or bad,
1. The appearance of artwork
2. The needle tube
3. The luminous filling or coating
Normally, The appearance of artwork of hands is diamond cut, water polishing, brushing, and then plating, painting, or burn blue processing.
The plating color should be uniform; it can not be with the white dot; if you zoom it, it can not have a pockmark and a pile of oil if painting.
The baked / burned blue color should be in the right color and effect
The hands tube data should be accurate, the hour and minute hand can use the hexagonal tube, the second hand with the cross tube.
The luminous filling should be delicate and flat, and can not be concave (if there is concave, when luminous at dark, it will have a dark shadow).
To ensure the luminous brightness, the best method is to fill the oil three times, Be careful not to spill to both sides (the more times it rub, the more easily luminous overflow, it is difficult to avoid the problem of overflow burr)
Strap Making Details:
Leather straps, steel straps, and plastic straps are more common;
To tell whether the leather straps are good or bad,
On one hand, is the leather material, on the other hand, are the details of workmanship:
Make sure the ear and buckle holes are of the right size, side to cut flat, sealing edge oil to smooth,
If the strap with no sealing on the side, the edges should be regular
The loop should be tightly pressed and glued without gaps
Choose the righ size of sewing line, and the sewed line should be straight
For Steel straps, the solid strap is better than folded S/S band, and loose beads/links are better than single beads/links.
For the plastic straps, it has silicone and rubber; silicone is characterized by better softness, and it can make different colors, but easy to sticky dust
Rubber strap is stronger, and now there is a fluoroelastomer that can make with different colors, and softness is also better.
To tell the good or bad quality of the plastic strap, We mainly check the material and the artwork of abrasives; the plastic gate should be small ( gate: There are usually gate areas on plastic products. The gate is the part of the frame connection area that is formed when the liquid material is poured o)
Watch Strap Buckle:
generally divided into pin buckle, folding buckle, and turtleback buckle.
The solid buckle is better than the folded stainless buckle, It should be with the same requirement as watch cases in appearance polishment
Requirements: smooth, even, no steps and blur, no sharpness, which means you need to ensure that the brush lines are straight, even, clear and can not scratch the hand.
The Watchmaking Industry and Advanced Watch making Industry?
The watchmaking experience I am talking about today is different from some advanced watchmaking experience. The watchmaking I am talking about is just the production and manufacturing of watches in a normal mass-production factory, not the kind of watches that treats watches as works of art.
Our factory only focuses on customizing general public watches that our customers can sell in the market, while watchmaking, is different.
Watchmaking is the art and science of designing, manufacturing and repairing watches.
Watchmaking has a long history, dating back to the 16th century. Early watches were driven by hand-wound springs, but over time watchmakers developed more complex mechanisms, such as escapements that regulate the movement of gears.
Today, watchmaking is a highly specialized field that requires a combination of technical competence, creativity and attention to detail. Watchmakers must be well versed in a variety of fields, including mechanics, design and material science.
Today, watchmaking is a highly specialized field that requires a combination of technical competence, creativity and attention to detail. Watchmakers must be well versed in a variety of fields, including mechanics, design and material science.
The process of making a watch typically involves a series of steps, from designing the movement to assembling the watch and testing its accuracy. Watchmakers use a variety of tools, such as lathes, milling machines and precision measuring instruments, to create the components of a watch.
Watchmaking is also an art form, and many watchmakers create intricate designs that are both beautiful and functional. Some of the most famous watchmakers in history, such as Abraham-Louis Breguet and Patek Philippe, are known for their innovative designs and technical expertise.
Overall, watchmaking is a fascinating field that combines art, science and craftsmanship to create some of the most complex and beautiful timepieces in the world.
I guess that’s one of the reasons why watches are all sold at such high prices
I’ve shown what I know, is that the same as what you think?
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