⚙ JOURNAL

Reading room

Longer pieces on the parts of the craft that need more than a specification table.

Beginner14 July 202610 min read

How to Start Watch Repair: A Beginner's Guide

The order in which to learn, the tools worth buying first, and the choice of first movement that decides whether your first year is educational or expensive.

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Movements28 June 202611 min read

Understanding Watch Movements: Automatic, Manual and Quartz

Three ways to keep time. What changes between them, what does not, and why the choice affects everything else you do to a watch.

Rosa Villiers

Tools11 June 20269 min read

Essential Tools for Watchmaking

What each tool is actually for, why the cheap version fails, and the order in which a bench should be built.

Tomas Meier

Lubrication30 May 202610 min read

Cleaning and Lubricating a Movement

Why a movement is cleaned, what the baths actually do, and the oiling sequence that decides how long the service lasts.

Rosa Villiers

Movements16 May 202611 min read

Understanding the Escapement

What the escapement is for, how a Swiss lever actually works, and the three geometry settings that decide whether it behaves.

Rosa Villiers

Regulation27 April 202610 min read

Regulating a Watch: Amplitude, Rate and Beat Error

The three numbers a timegrapher gives you, what each one actually means, and the order in which to fix them.

Kenji Brandt

Beginner9 April 20269 min read

Watch Case and Crystal Replacement

Opening a case without marking it, fitting a crystal without cracking it, and why the gasket matters more than either.

Sofia Okonkwo

Safety22 March 20268 min read

Magnetism and Watches: Causes and Fixes

Why a watch that was fine yesterday suddenly gains minutes a day, how to confirm it, and how to fix it properly.

Kenji Brandt

Regulation5 March 20269 min read

Water Resistance: Testing and Maintenance

What a depth rating does and does not mean, how a pressure test works, and why a pass today says nothing about next year.

Kenji Brandt

Beginner16 February 20268 min read

Setting Up a Home Watch Workshop

Space, light, surface and storage — the four things that decide whether a home bench is usable, and none of them are tools.

Sofia Okonkwo