Ultimate DIY starter kit?
Please forgive me if this has been asked a million times. And if so, please point me in the right direction for a thread that captures what I need… Thank you.
I’m looking to get into watchmaking. I’ve always had an interest in horology & own several watches of varying complexities, but I’d like to start tinkering and understanding more about the mechanics.
Ultimately my goal would be to be able to service my own watches. But before I go too deep down this path, I just want to tinker with some cheap movements & learn at my own pace.
I’ve seen kits online but they seem overpriced for what they are. Really I’d like to strip down an Asian movement and rebuild. I’m less concerned about building a watch and more interested in the servicing aspect.
What equipment should I look at to get started? What movements would you buy, and are there any “must have” tools that make life easier?
No budget limit really. I’d rather “buy once” than buy cheap and have to buy twice. I’d rather have the right tools than struggle to set hands or press crystals with the wrong equipment.
I do expect this to be a long term hobby of mine and so I’m happy to invest - but I don’t want to make a mess of an ETA movement on my first go - and I understand it’s going to take 1000s of hours of practice. So really I’m just looking to build a “beginners set” without paying a hyper inflated price online.
Thank you for your help on my watchmaking journey.