How to go about getting a Watch made.

[rema]

Hi everyone just wanted to ask if anyone knew how I would go about getting a watch made, I am planning to design how it looks and then get it made to spec, I’m not looking to create anything over the top just a digital watch that tells the time, date, and has alarm and countdown timer.

A bit like to this one:

I’m guessing I will need to create detailed sketches, then get a 3d rendition created, then decide materials and functionally, but then I’m not sure what the next steps will be anybody know how I would best go about this and round about how much it will cost me.

The plan is to make one made for myself and then if anyone I know is interested make like 10 more.

Any ideas suggestions are welcome.

Thanks in advance

 

[balamw]

A small run of a digital watch sounds a) expensive b) bulky. Any watchmaker worth his or her salt can build you a decent analog watch, but unless you're just looking to build a custom housing around an existing digital core, I think you're SOL.

If all you want is the custom enclosure, said watchmaker, jeweler or a decent machinist with a CNC should be able to turn out something unique.

B

 

[rema]

Thanks for getting back to me I was thinking, of a full design, the enclosure, strap and the actual digital interface (core) the way the numbers and date appear on screen and which buttons do what. Do you thinks that’s possible.

 

[shecky]

i would say it is absolutely possible but it is most likely going to be ridiculously expensive as it would be a one-off custom watch and not run on a production line and have the advantage of economies of scale.

having said that if you live near any reputable art+design school with an industrial design department that might be a good way to start.

 

[rema]

Thanks for the reply i was thinking of making one first and then maybe a short run of about 10 afterwards,

what do you mean by living near a reputable art+design school cause i am a student at one i'm not sure if the do indutraial design thou i'll look into it.

i'm not sure if they have the facilities to manufacture the watch but i guess they could help with the design process

 

[Sdashiki]

Have you researched into how a digital watch functions?

If you arent going to just hack another digital watch, there is NO way you can do this.

There is the battery, the CPU, the quartz crystal and all the timing things inside the watch.

How would one go about creating this from scratch without using off the shelf parts, which I would imagine dont exist.

 

[rema]

Hi there I think you misunderstood the post I do not want to make the watch myself, i want to design how it will look and how it will function and then get it made for me.

 

[atari1356]

Hi there I think you misunderstood the post I do not want to make the watch myself, i want to design how it will look and how it will function and then get it made for me.

As others have said, that would end up being incredibly expensive. As with any electronic device, the development cost is very high... but the companies make their money back by selling thousands (or even millions) of the finished product.

Unless you're willing to shell out $200,000 (random guess on the amount) for a custom watch - I wouldn't expect much.

Maybe your best bet would be to come up with the design - through illustrations or 3D models - then try to shop that design to various watch manufacturers as something that they could mass produce?

 

[mduser63]

Have you researched into how a digital watch functions?

If you arent going to just hack another digital watch, there is NO way you can do this.

There is the battery, the CPU, the quartz crystal and all the timing things inside the watch.

How would one go about creating this from scratch without using off the shelf parts, which I would imagine dont exist.

The electronics are not the hard part really. Obviously all the things you mentioned (battery, CPU, crystal) can be bought off the shelf. The most difficult part is a custom LCD. Apparently they are available though, so if you've got some money to spend on this I think it may be possible.

It might be worth pointing out that you're going to need more than art and design. Especially if you use a custom LCD, you're going to need an electrical engineer to design the electronics.

 

[lexus]

Wow this is very random.