So, I’ve been wanting to get my hands on a nice watch for a while now, and I’ve had my eye on the Jaeger-LeCoultre Duomètre à Quantième Lunaire. It’s a real beauty, but let’s be honest, it’s way out of my price range.
That’s when I started thinking, “Why not try to make a copy of it?” I know, I know, it sounds crazy, but I’ve always been a hands-on kind of guy. I love taking things apart and putting them back together, and I figured this would be a fun challenge.
I started by doing a ton of research. I spent hours online, looking at pictures and videos of the watch. I wanted to get a good sense of the design, the details, the overall look and feel. Then, I started gathering materials. I knew I wouldn’t be able to find exact replicas of the parts used in the original, but I tried to find stuff that was close enough. I bought some cheap watches from thrift stores to use for parts. I also ordered some tools and materials online, like tiny screwdrivers and tweezers. I even made some of the parts myself using bits of metal and plastic I found around the house. It was a real DIY project.
Once I had everything I needed, it was time to start building. I cleared off my workbench, put on some good music, and got to work. I started with the case. I found a metal case from an old watch that was about the right size and shape. I had to do some modifications to it. Next up was the dial. I printed out a high-resolution image of the original dial and carefully glued it to a thin piece of metal. It wasn’t perfect, but it looked pretty good from a distance.
The trickiest part was definitely the movement. Let me tell you, watch movements are complicated. I had to carefully take apart the movements from the cheap watches I bought and try to combine them in a way that would mimic the functions of the Duomètre. It was a lot of trial and error, and there were definitely times when I felt like giving up. But I kept at it, and slowly but surely, things started to come together.
- I took apart some cheap watches.
- I put them back together.
- I did this many, many times.
Finally, after weeks of work, I had something that resembled the watch I wanted. I won’t lie, it wasn’t perfect. The finishing wasn’t as polished, and the movement wasn’t as smooth. And, let’s be real, it didn’t have the same prestige as a real Jaeger-LeCoultre. The details of the moon phase were not that perfect. But, you know what? I was proud of it. I had taken on a challenge and built something with my own two hands.
The Result
It was a great learning experience. I got a much deeper appreciation for the craftsmanship and engineering that goes into making a high-end watch. And I had a lot of fun doing it. It also gave me a unique piece to wear on my wrist. Even though it’s not the real deal, it’s still a cool conversation starter. And who knows, maybe one day I’ll be able to afford the real Duomètre. But until then, I’m happy with my homemade version.
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