Journey of a Watchmaker: From Vision to Creation
Creating my own watch has been at the back of my mind ever since I started watchmaking school in 2006. In fact, it was on my mind even before I applied to the school. The idea began to take shape in 2019 when I started my own watch repair service. Finally, in 2021, I took the plunge and began designing the watch. I made the drawings and ordered a prototype from a machinist. After a few test pieces, I was satisfied with the result.
The idea was to create a stylish, unique, and affordable watch where the dial would be the focal point. The plan was to hand-paint each dial from start to finish. I spent about two years trying to develop a suitable technique and model for this. However, this proved impossible to achieve while keeping the watch’s cost reasonable for the customer and ensuring the watch would be as I had envisioned. For this reason, the back of the watch reads “acrylic on metal,” but in the final product, the indices on each watch are hand-painted with acrylic.
The Collaborative Journey of My Unique Watch Design
With nearly 20 years of experience in watch repair, I chose a highly reliable and best value-for-money movement. The original idea didn’t work out, so I had to rethink the approach. I had come across the works of astrophotographer J-P Metsävainio and fell in love with his images of space nature. His photos are truly stunning, and he is an exceptionally talented photographer. I asked about the possibility of collaboration, and to my delight, he agreed. Thus, his image of the NGC 281, the “Pac-Man Nebula,” became the base for the dial.
At this stage, I still tried to create the dial’s figures myself but couldn’t achieve the desired results. Once again, I turned to another very talented artist. Aino Saarikivi eventually found the time to create the figures and the overall design, for which I am very grateful. She managed to create exactly the atmosphere in the dial that I had hoped for.
In the end, a project I had planned to complete entirely on my own became a collaborative effort of three craftsmen. I am very pleased with the final product, and I hope you all will be too.
Best regards, Alien behind Alienn & Afosi