I am talking about the old style analog, mechanical gear watches here, not the electronic versions.
Analog watches are complex arrangements of gears, springs, and an escapement to slow down the transfer of energy from the spring to the gears.
They get built by hand. You can learn how to do it. It's very finicky work, but you come away with a really nice watch. It's not easy, can be very frustrating, nor is it cheap. But it doesn't take much muscle.
You get to pick what the watch looks like - skeleton versions that show 'the action' are popular - and what gems to use as friction-less pivots.
You also come away with a whole set of interesting tools for micro work. For me, that was a plus.
My class was small (3 people) 100% male, and all adults, no senior citizens. It's a nerdy hobby. Kids could do it, except it's expensive.
Even fifty years ago, NYC was a major center for watch making. It's still cheaper to buy a watch on the streets of NYC than most places, but few people are making them by hand anymore. It's a great hobby if you can deal with the extremely delicate, fussy bits.
I took classes here:
http://nkiruamerica.org/
Analog watches are complex arrangements of gears, springs, and an escapement to slow down the transfer of energy from the spring to the gears.
They get built by hand. You can learn how to do it. It's very finicky work, but you come away with a really nice watch. It's not easy, can be very frustrating, nor is it cheap. But it doesn't take much muscle.
You get to pick what the watch looks like - skeleton versions that show 'the action' are popular - and what gems to use as friction-less pivots.
You also come away with a whole set of interesting tools for micro work. For me, that was a plus.
My class was small (3 people) 100% male, and all adults, no senior citizens. It's a nerdy hobby. Kids could do it, except it's expensive.
Even fifty years ago, NYC was a major center for watch making. It's still cheaper to buy a watch on the streets of NYC than most places, but few people are making them by hand anymore. It's a great hobby if you can deal with the extremely delicate, fussy bits.
I took classes here:
http://nkiruamerica.org/
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