Watchmaking
by George Daniels · first published 1982
14mentions
11recommended by
13HN commenters
2013–2025first – last mentioned
85% recommend15% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Covers the full process of making a modern Swiss lever mechanical watch, from concepts and workshop design through machining and assembly; recommended for anyone wanting to build a watch from raw brass and gold.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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…you can print/order, but for accuracy purposes I tend to use an existing balance spring (generally sourced from any old Seiko movement). I recommend 2 books if you want to make your own movements 1) Watchmaking by George Daniels 2) Practical Watch Repairing by Donald de Carle The first is a textbook and second deals with repairing, but actually taught me the more practical side of how to assemble & regulate…
on “DIY makers who build their own watches” ↗I started with Greg Daniel's masterpiece: Watchmaking. https://www.amazon.com/Watchmaking-George-Daniels/dp/0856677...
on “Mechanical Watch” ↗For those interested in watches, the book "Watchmaking" by George Daniels is an interesting read. It's very technical, but covers in great detail all the steps necessary to make a watch, including some complications.
on “A Russian Gains Prominence Among Fine Watchmakers” ↗I'm going to echo your sentiments regarding "Watchmaking" by George Daniels[1]. Anyone even remotely interested in watchmaking should order that book immediately. I hate to be overly pedantic, this is HN after all, but Roger Smith still gets mainsprings, balances,…
on “Masahiro Kikuno, Japanese Independent Watchmaker” ↗Watchmaking by George Daniels
on “Ask HN: Coffee table books” ↗I see he has a copy of "Watchmaking" by George Daniels. That is the "Knuth" of watchmaking. Here in Britain, we have Roger W Smith, the only watchmaker in the world who makes everything by hand. He was the principal disciple of George…
on “Masahiro Kikuno, Japanese Independent Watchmaker” ↗After skimming through a large portion of George Daniel's book "Watchmaking", if anything, I very much appreciate how complicated making a mechanical watch is, and even more so, how easy it is to get things wrong. From what I saw, you have to have a lot of tooks to make your…
on “The frenzied world of rare watches” ↗If you love both watch mechanisms and incredible feats of "traditional" machining, I highly recommend George Daniels' "Watchmaking." Not only is it a beautiful coffee table book but it takes the reader through modern (Swiss lever) mechanical watches all the way, from concepts to workshop design to machining to assembly. Even if you…
on “Geneva drive” ↗…Repairing by Donald De Carle, preferably 3rd. edition. to start your library. If you really want to build a watch from a chunk of brass, maybe a little gold, and watch lathe, buy George Daniels book Watchmaking. George Daniels invented the Co-axial escapement(an unusual escapement that Omega adopted, and might not need lubrication.), and was a great Watch Maker/machinist. He supposedly did his best work after…
on “Show HN: Mechanical clock simulation in WebGL” ↗Go find a PDF of "Fundamentals of Mechanical Accuracy" by Wayne R. Moore, if you haven't already seen it. That book, along with George Daniels text "Watchmaking" are some of the top inspiring works on the mechanical arts in my collection.
on “FAA issues emergency directive on 2,000 Boeing 737 NG, Classic planes” ↗If you are curious on actually making a watch movement, I recommend looking at George Daniel's book "Watchmaking". It is a very well put together book, but is also very technical.
on “The frenzied world of rare watches” ↗…fabricating skills and ingenuity employed, building every component “aside from the movement” is akin to building a car ‘aside from the engine and transmission’. For a soup-to-nuts breakdown, seek out ‘Watchmaking’ by horological legend George Daniels https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Daniels_(watchmaker)
on “Building a watch from scratch in a Brooklyn basement” ↗I wish I could, but I am practically brand new to it. The interest in watchmaking is coming second to an interest in watch collecting. The advice I got was to get Watchmaking by George Daniels and read that to get a strong overview. It's unfortunately currently sitting on my bookshelf,…
on “Ask HN: What are your Hobbies?” ↗I've had the first book (Watchmaking by George Daniels) on an Amazon wishlist for some time but the price never seems to drop below £50 (and used copies go for far more). Always a sign of a worthwhile book :-)
on “DIY makers who build their own watches” ↗