DIY "Digital" Watch

DIY "Digital" Watch

OK, it's digital in that it's made of bits. From ebay. It's actually mechanical and uses a movement, case and strap from ebay and a couple of 3D printed movement rings to hold it all in the case. The current setup is this:

I bought really cheap parts, and had a few adventures along the way but I have finally got somewhere. I started by buying a Chinese movement that might be based on the ETA 2824, or not. I also bout a case which is better than I thought it would be, and a bracelet. I also bought some hands to fit on the movement. For some reason that I can't remember I part dismantled the movement, I can't remember why. There must have been a reason as I intended to just fit the movement in the case. Anyway, in the process I managed to shear a screw (left and thread, I though they were marked with three slots?) and lose a click spring. I have subsequently managed to make a click spring and replace the sheared off screw with a new one, and the movement works again.

While I was wondering if I'd ever fix the movement I bought another one (even cheaper than the first), as a replacement for the broken one. It was about £11 on ebay and I found out that that isn't really enough money to make a decent movement. The move expensive movement was £22 and that does seem to be enough, just). The cannon pinion never worked properly and the movement kept awful time, simply because the minute and hour hands weren't moving. I eventually gave up on this movement, I may have another go at getting it to work sometime.

At the same time as buying the second movement I bought a correct sized dial, which was very nice. Unfortunately the dial doesn't fit the dial mount on the first movement so I can't use it. I may get another one if I feel like it.

The dial is held in the case with a 3D printed ring, you can see it in the photo above. The movement is also held in place with a 3D printed ring. The case has a clear back, which I didn't deliberately look for, but turned out to be useful when I was sizing and adjusting 3D printed parts:

The movement is automatic, so should and does appear to wind itself.

So, this is an alternative to the digital watches I've been trying to make, and stalled on for the time being, it tells the time, doesn't need batteries and shows the date. That covers most of what I want it to do.