Okay, so I’ve been wanting to share my latest project, and it’s a fun one. I decided to try my hand at imitating a classic timepiece – the Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Ultra Thin Perpetual Calendar. Yeah, it’s a mouthful, but it’s a really beautiful watch. Now, I’m no watchmaker, but I do enjoy a good challenge, and I thought, why not?
First off, I spent a lot of time just staring at pictures of this watch online. I mean, this thing is considered high-end, right up there with some of the most respected brands. It’s known for its quality and precision. The real deal is 39mm in diameter and super thin at 9.4mm thick. It’s a piece of art, really. Anyway, I dug around to see if anyone else had tried to replicate this or similar watches with perpetual calendars. There are some forum posts about it, people looking for good copies, but not much on actually making one.
I started by gathering all the materials I could. I’m not about to make actual watch parts, so I went with what I could find that looked the part. I found some old watch movements at a flea market, not Jaeger-LeCoultre obviously, but they had the right vibe. Then, I got some thin metal sheets to work on the casing. This was the hardest part, trying to get that sleek, ultra-thin look without the actual precision tools they use for the real thing.
The Dial: I spent hours trying to mimic the dial. It’s got these tiny sub-dials for the date, day, month, and moon phase. I ended up using a fine-tipped marker and a steady hand to draw them on a piece of white cardstock. Not perfect, but it got the job done. I cut out little hands from some foil and glued them on. Again, it’s all about the illusion here.
The Case: Shaping the metal for the case was tricky. I used a small hammer and a lot of patience to get it as round and smooth as possible. It’s nowhere near as polished as the original, but it has a certain handmade charm to it, I guess. I managed to fit the makeshift movement and the dial inside, and closed it up.
-
Gathering Materials:
Scoured flea markets for old watch parts and bought thin metal sheets.
-
Crafting the Dial:
Hand-drew the sub-dials and used foil for the watch hands.
-
Shaping the Case:
Hammered the metal sheets to form a round case, trying to mimic the thinness.
-
Assembly:
Carefully put the dial and movement inside the case and sealed it up.
In the end, I have something that kinda looks like the Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Ultra Thin Perpetual Calendar. It doesn’t tell time, and the calendar doesn’t work, but it’s a cool little project that I’m pretty proud of. It’s definitely not something you’d mistake for the real thing, but it’s a fun conversation starter. And hey, it taught me a lot about the craftsmanship that goes into these high-end watches. I have a whole new appreciation for them now. It was a ton of work, but honestly, I had a blast doing it. I might try another watch project in the future, who knows?