The Watchmaker's Workshop gives you an exclusive, inside peek into the workshop of a real, independent watchmaker and watch manufacturer. Cameron Weiss, founder of Weiss Watch Company, invites you inside his workshop to talk about watches, watchmaking, and watch manufacturing.
Cameron Weiss is a Swiss-trained and certified master watchmaker, with prestigious training from Audemars Piguet & Vacheron Constantin. Cameron founded Weiss Watch Company in 2013 and was the co-host of the watch podcast, Watch & Listen. He enjoys cycling, woodworking, and restoring classic cars, and exploring the outdoors with his family in his "spare time".
the north seattle watchmaker course is minimum $36,000 usd per year. the program is 2 years. whats the salary for a new watchmaker thats in about 80 thousand dollars in debt? how many years would it take to pay that off if your salary is lets say.... generously 70k a year. there are far too many other expenses to have watchmaker school even be a reasonable choice at the cost of training and tools.
Cameron the point we dislike doing the same operation, manufacturing, assembly, cleaning, packing & shipping etc. is when we become artist and perform our insight for the grateful public to the very point the public pay to have our gift. Appreciate!
I like the style of your videos. So calm and floating. Congratulations to your success building an American watch company with everything in-house! I am pondering which watch my next one should be. Sinn U 50 or the Weiss Automatic. I am a fan of good lume. Would you say the lume on your watches is very good? Greetings from Germany. 🕐⚙️🍸
Thanks for answering my question about which CNC machine you recommend. I loved the suggestion of a manual lathe with a milling attachment. If you can make parts with that, you can make parts with anything. I appreciate it!
I love these Q&A's. Particularly excited for the next iteration of the Weiss in-house movement. I just finished completely restoring a 1973 VW Beetle, and a 1975 Honda CB550f Super Sport. I can't think of anything more gratifying than bringing back to life an old, warn out machine, and making it more reliable than when it was new.
I can imagine the balance wheel and sliding pinion being a nightmare to make. I guess when working on that scale to differences come down to a few micron. I agree with you on the lathe point. I am not that strong on the CNC part but I can help myself on a milling machine and lathe. Thank you for answering my Land rover question! They have so much personality and they make great companions! Awesome advice and answers as usual Cameron!
Your discussion of whether a treasured watch is really the same after having many parts replaced brings to mind the "Ship of Theseus" paradox of ancient Greek mythology & philosophy: Is it the same ship after hundreds of years of maintenance have replaced all the parts?
Cameron, Really fascinating! You have a wealth of knowledge way beyond what you learned at watchmaking school. Thank you for sharing! Your comments on how watches used to be made are fascinating. That's a whole world gone now. It's hard for us in 2024 to envision that world of yesteryear without someone like you. You are so very gifted and have worked so very hard. I admire you. By the way, I love your philosophy of watchmaking. I don't like a cluttered dial, and I think there is much value in 18,000 per hour for a mechanical watch. Before I met your field watches, I've loved working on Hamilton 982M (retired and 65 years old). I now have a goal to one day maybe own a Weiss! Thank you for your Q&A sessions--for caring enough to share. Blessings! David Lee
It seems the US and Europe is really the only way to get an education and qualifications in this field. I’ve reached out to nearly every watchmaker, and watch and clock groups. I’ve been rejected as an apprentice. I’ve had my membership for official watchmaker groups and associations refunded to me because I don’t work in the industry. Here in Australia, my only option has been self learning and online courses, while sufficient to some degree, do not offer any official certifications nor does self learning give me a real chance to learn apart from coming across my own problems along the way in a movement I might have purchased with some known and unknown problems to diagnose and resolve.
Cameron, Wow! I'm just learning watchmaking, and I very much love your channel and like your easy-going personality and worldview on watchmaking. I have a question. If I buy an ETA Valjoux, top grade, glucydur balance movement for about $495.00 off eBay, do I need to take it apart and lubricate it myself, or does it come lubricated? Thanks, David Lee
It depends on the seller. Some sellers are selling fresh/new movements that are clean and have all the proper lubrication. Other sellers might have older stock of movements that are clean, but might have been siting for more than a few years and need cleaning and lubrication. There are also sellers that sell movements that have been taken out of other watches and will definitely need full cleaning and oiling.
