01 // THE FIVE-WATCH JOURNEY · 2026
One bench, five watches, documented in full.
A working journal of a multi-watch building project. Each build deliberately stretches a different skill — case, dial, hands, crystal, finishing, sourcing judgment — so that by Watch 5 the full toolkit is in hand.
01SAPPHIRE DIAL
02BLUED HANDS
03OPEN-HEART 9o'
04NH38 · 21.6k
Bench stats
[ LIVE · 2026 ]
TOTAL BUILDS
5
ACTIVE
1on bench
PLANNED
4
RECENT LOG
8entries
Builds
[ ALL PROJECTS · LOG ]
001 // WATCH 1
GS Snowflake homage on a 36mm Lucius 1908 platform — open-heart blue-accent showpiece that reveals mechanics from both faces
In progress — spec v3 confirmed, parts ordered 2026-05-12, awaiting delivery. Open-heart blue showpiece (GS Snowflake homage). Rewritten 2026-05-13 to match the 2026-05-12 Lucius Atelier order (#LA1682225618, $799) — Rob's explicit call. Concept pivoted from v2 stealth-under-cuff dress. Expected arrival 2026-05-14 to 2026-05-18 (Express 2-4 business days).
ON BENCH
002 // WATCH 2
The dress watch — thin, restrained, precise
future — open for refinement after Watch 1 ships
PLANNED
003 // WATCH 3
The open-heart / exhibition build — movement as design element
future — open for refinement after Watch 2 ships
PLANNED
004 // WATCH 4
The signature watch — building what isn't sold
future — open for refinement after Watch 3 ships
PLANNED
005 // WATCH 5
The technical stretch — complications
future — open for refinement after Watch 4 ships
PLANNED
Activity
VIEW FULL LOG →
2026-05-13
ship
redesign — workshop port (Inter+JetBrains Mono, cyan accent, grid backdrop, mono nav, square tiles)
2026-05-13
lint
CLAUDE.md sourcing rule update. Removed the Claude-authored line "No Amazon. No starter kits or bundle tool kits. Tool sources are Esslinger.com and Cousins UK. Individual premium tools only." — this rule contradicts Rob's actual position (memory: Rob explicit 2026-05-11 that categorical supplier bans were Claude-added, not his policy) and is contradicted in practice by the 2026-05-11 Amazon tools order ($2,655.50 across 6 orders). Replaced with: "Premium individual tools — no starter/bundle kits. Supplier is whatever serves the specific tool best (Amazon, Esslinger, Cousins UK, eBay, AliExpress all on the table); quality of the specific item is what matters." bench_inventory.md sourcing-rule line updated to match. Note attached to the CLAUDE.md change citing the prior Claude-authored rule and Rob's overrule date.
2026-05-13
decision
Watch 001 spec.md rewritten v2 → v3. The 2026-05-12 Lucius order matched v2 (stealth-under-cuff dress) on case + crown class only; dial, movement, hands, strap, and caseback aesthetic were all substantive deviations. Surfaced the contradictions to Rob via parts.md deviation table; Rob's response: "log it and change the spec.md - it's my final choice." spec.md rewritten as v3 — **open-heart blue showpiece, GS Snowflake homage**. Concept pivot from "stealth dress disappears under a cuff" to "showpiece reveals mechanics from both faces" (open-heart dial cutout + sapphire caseback with Côtes de Genève bridge + FPJ Diamond Blue rotor). v2 dress spec preserved at the top of spec.md as Revision history (not as a separate document). Sourcing audit for v2 preserved under `builds/watch_001/sourcing/2026-05-11_*.md` untouched. Pre-install verification checklist added at the bottom of spec.md: 8 items including hand tube IDs (H=1.5/M=0.88/S=0.20mm against NH38 pinions), second hand ≤11.5mm crystal clearance, dial-to-movement open-heart cutout alignment, BGW9 lume match between dial indices and hands.
2026-05-12
decision
Bench tools — Esslinger order. Horotec 64.035 3-position hand press ($229.00) and Bergeon 7026-CP-2A polished-tip hand-installing tweezer ($99.95) — total $328.95. Logged in bench_inventory.md under Owned. The Horotec closes wishlist #5; the 7026 wasn't on the original wishlist but is the right tool for installing the Watch 001 BGW9 polished blue Dauphine hands (polished tips won't mar the blue finish).
2026-05-12
decision
Watch 001 bill of materials ordered — **single Lucius Atelier order #LA1682225618, $799 total** (Express 2-4 business days, $0 shipping). Line items: 1908 Watch Case 36mm Ultra Thin NH34-Ready Sapphire ($117), Seiko (TMI) NH38 Open Heart Non-Regulated movement ($153), NH Movement Bridge Côtes de Genève Sunburst Silver ($69), NH Movement Rotor FPJ Diamond Blue ($38), Seiko NH stem ($6), Snowflake Dial Open Heart ×2 (install + spare, $128 total), SKX013 Brushed Silver Chapter Ring Ultra Thin ×2 ($42), GS Dauphine Hands Polished Blue Luminous BGW9 Grade A ×2 sets ($96), SKX Crown II 1908 6mm Silver ($21), Shell Cordovan Chocolate Full Stitch 20/16mm Large strap ($129). Expected delivery 2026-05-14 to 2026-05-18. Adriel customs note: route any customs inquiry through [email protected], don't forward the order email. parts.md updated to reflect actual order; v2 dress-spec parts (Esslinger NH38A, Tikko Mods dial, W&W Whiskey strap) preserved as `redirected (superseded)` rows for audit.
2026-05-11
decision
Bench tools — closing the wishlist. Six Amazon orders totaling **$2,655.50** placed 2026-05-11 close every priority wishlist item plus add bench-rounding tools. Closes wishlist 1-8: (1) AmScope SM-4TZ-144A trinocular stereo zoom microscope w/ boom stand 3.5X-90X (in #113-9129194-2365823, arr. 2026-05-14); (2) Bergeon 6899-S09 9-pc screwdriver set (in #113-2420130-7850617, arr. 2026-05-15); (3) Dumont TWZ-302.16 Hi-tech #3 (#113-5715564-6307432 $47.64, arr. 2026-05-19) + Dumont Dumoxel #5 110mm (in #113-9129194-2365823, arr. 2026-05-21); (4) Bergeon 5500-C crystal press + 10 tapered dies (#113-9948263-9797049 $693.38, arr. 2026-05-18 to 2026-05-22); (6) Bergeon 4040-P large extensible movement holder (in #113-9129194-2365823, arr. 2026-05-17); (7) Bergeon 7033 Premium Rodico (in #113-2420130-7850617, arr. 2026-05-15); (8) SWANSOFT No.1000 Timegrapher (in #113-4221343-0514604, arr. 2026-05-14) — same hardware tier as the wishlist's Weishi 1000. Plus bench-rounding (not on wishlist): Bergeon Presto #1 hand remover (#113-2725898-8848202 $127.93, arr. 2026-05-19), Soft Tip Silicone air blower (in #113-4221343-0514604, arr. 2026-05-14), and 12-item Bergeon/Horotec bundle in #113-2420130-7850617 ($653.86, arr. mixed 2026-05-14 / 2026-05-15): 8008 caseback ball, single-blade case opener, 7404 hand setting tool assortment (3-pc), Horotec MSA12.303-B5 brass precision tweezer, 6767-F spring bar tool, QEES demagnetizer, 7808-V green bench mat, TAURISH 24-pc pegwood, Durabox 18×14×6" hard case w/ customizable foam. bench_inventory.md fully rewritten — Owned table populated, wishlist marked complete, spending summary added. Spending breakdown across the 6 orders preserved in the inventory file.
2026-05-11
decision
Watch 001 spec — no-date rule relaxed. Rob picked "Relax no-date" from the Escalation B options after the dial escalation pass confirmed structural impossibility of no-date sterile-sunburst across 12 source spaces. Spec.md no-date rule rewritten: "date aperture acceptable as physical feature; will be plugged at assembly with a brass/steel disc behind the dial since NH38A has no date wheel" — original spirit (no visible date display) preserved by the assembly approach. Dial supplier committed: **Tikko Mods (eBay, Latvia) — 28.5mm Sterile Watch Dial NH35 - White Silve Sunburst Pearl Silver Luminous, item #116867326868, $22.00 + $13.00 shipping ≈ $35 landed, https://www.ebay.com/itm/116867326868**. parts.md dial row promoted from `tbd` → `proposed`. Two open-at-arrival questions for Rob: (a) "Luminous" in title — close-up photos suggest no lume but only confirmable by inspection; if markers have lume on arrival, Rob's call to accept or return within the 30-day window; (b) outer minute chapter ring has small Arabic numerals at every 5-min mark — interpretation question against the spec's "no Arabic numerals" rule (Rob's confirmation was about hour-position indices, not the minute track). With this commit, **case + dial + movement + strap are all `proposed` and order-ready**; hands sourcing is the remaining sourcing pass before assembly.
2026-05-11
research
Dial escalation pass: structural mismatch confirmed across 2 consecutive sourcing passes — full audit at builds/watch_001/sourcing/2026-05-11_dial_escalation_pass.md. Searched the four sources the prior pass left as gaps: Taobao (login-gated, inaccessible without Rob creating an account), 1688 (B2B finished-goods marketplace, wrong genre for individual-buyer modder parts), Etsy (custom-art dials only — aventurine, enamel, mosaic — no Mosel-template parts), eBay (productive). Added a Mandarin-keyword pivot on AliExpress that the prior English-only pass didn't try; surfaced ~50+ new candidate listings beyond the prior pass. Drilled 5 candidates with full verification blocks. **All 5 fail the critical-fields gate.** Notable new source: **Tikko Mods (Latvia, eBay, 18-year established account, 100% positive feedback, 364 items sold) — closest off-the-shelf match found in any session**: 28.5mm Sterile Watch Dial NH35 - White Silve Sunburst Pearl Silver Luminous, $22 + $13 shipping ≈ $35 landed, sterile center, applied polished stick markers, dress-correct triangle at 12, white pearl sunburst, "Non-Numeric Hour Marks" per eBay item specifics. **Fatal flaw: date aperture at 3 o'clock**, same template-coupling as DSWatch Date-just. Every Tikko Mods 28.5mm dial variant shares this template. Structural finding from prior pass is reinforced, not overturned: across all surveyed sources (Lucius, NamokiMODS, DSWatch, Watch and Style, Mod Mode, WR Watches, AliExpress English + Mandarin, DIY Watch Club, 1688, Etsy, eBay Tikko Mods), the applied-stick + sterile-center + sunburst template family is industrially coupled to a date aperture across the entire Chinese OEM modder ecosystem. Sterile sunburst dials without date apertures exist only as fully blank "No Scale" discs (no indices at all) or in fine-grained matte finishes (Lucius 1908 Dial). **Recommendation: Escalation B — single spec-relaxation decision question for Rob.** Per guardrails, this pass does NOT recommend which rule to relax. parts.md dial row + parts_database.md updated. Remaining gap: Taobao (login-gated; would need Rob to create account or supply credentials).