Building a DREAM Custom Watch from AliExpress 

its all your fault that i have a load of watch parts coming from aliexpress

I discovered you through retro gaming content and stayed for the personality. Being a watch enthusiast myself I'm having a blast watching these watchmaking videos.

Copying you and making my own watch has been a learning experience. Mostly learning to double check measurements and compatibilities before buying!

I know you said no painted hands but I love different color hands! A bold color for the seconds hand would have made this one pop, I think! Maybe yellow, to simulate the "light" of the lighthouse moving in a circle?

Absolutely loving these! The hands are beautiful and that dial. Wow absolutely stunning. not to mention the custom rotor. You're really stepping these videos up!

A trick for aligning things with adhesive on them: align them first without removing the backing, like you did. Then use a piece of tape to attach it to the thing it's going to adhere to. Then you can lift it, still attached via the tape, in order to remove the adhesive backing. Then when you place it back down, the tape should ensure it goes down in exactly the same spot as before.

Absolutely love that you are working with watches now, I've loved Gameboys since I first ever held one. Years later I'm working for a company that deals with watch repairs, battery changes and servicing. LOVE IT BRO

bought and made my own watch from ali express and I'm loving it, looks 1:1 to the rolex dayjust and thank you for the cheap inspiration!!

Great video, couple things, for dials without date windows, no need to use the NH35, what you should be using is the NH38, second thing is that when you are filing the stem, make sure to have a cloche or else to cover the watch, as with the open watch movement, there is a risk that you get metal filings in the movement

Im so glad you got into this hobby, ive been buying old swiss movements, repairing them and restoring them to be as good as new. You should try electro plating as well, it makes the finish more self customised.

Love these watch build videos man keep them coming!

really enjoying these vids! this is what watch culture needs!!!!

I really love these DIY watch videos. Hoping to build one myself soon.

I wanted to build a watch for a while and after watching one of your previous video I decided to give it a go. I could not be happier with the result, I literally built a gorgeous watch for under 150$ and its thanks to you.

Beautiful watch. Thanks for not editing out any problens - I learn from those. The custom dial and rotor look fantastic.

Wow i love that, it's so beautiful & her artwork is amazing. The fish hands are so unique, I love them. What a great personalised watch.

Im obsessed with these videos please keep making em

Beautiful!!!

Another watch building convert - thank you for the inspiration Elliot.

Every video of yours I watch I find a new hobby. Thank you for your service.

Love it! Currently wearing my 1st custom Seiko, thanks to you Elliot i love it

ur custom watch series is intriguing

This is some of your most exciting content you’ve made recently!! Never have thought I’d get into watches of all things

Well done Elliot! I am building a watch with what had in a video. Love it.

Nice work. Looks amazing

As someone who's never gotten into this stuff before, I've been loving these watch videos. Have you ever thought about building a pocket watch? I'd be curious on how (if at all) the process is different.

I love these videos! Keep them coming

what a beautiful piece

these are so great!

Love the watch videos, keep them coming!! Can't wait for the video where the green ball is finally fully deflated haha

Its so absolutely beautiful man, congrats :)

Nothing wrong with attaching the dial with "stickers". If you have a proper expensive watch and the dial feet break off - easy to do if you're not careful - you still need some way to use the dial. They're called dial dots.

Loving these videos! 🙂

Love watching you learn a lot of the same things I learned as I made my first few! Looking forward to watching work with a 2824 clone!

I watched all of the hodinkee interviews and needed something about watches ....and man im glad i ran into your watch building episodes..thank you

You're first video inspired me to try and make my own. On AliExpress the replacement hammers that cost around ~£20 are what you thought you had bought, the cheaper ~£3 ones are the stick on ones.

I’ve been loving these videos! I’ve been getting into watches recently (more specifically Casio and Seiko) and these videos have taught me a lot!

The spark at 13.30 when you cut the stem was unexpected. I am about to assemble my first watch and have viewed dozens of videos. Good to see someone talking through their attempts.

need more of this

What a beauty😍

I like these vids please keep them coming

I built my very first watch yesterday, 62mas homage powered by a nh35 movement, your video about the one you made really helped me. Its a great feeling wearing something you made yourself. Definitely going to be building more, probably doing a Seiko turtle next. Big Thank you. 🍻⌚

I love your Videos! Your Channel is a wonderul Place to Calm down and relax.

nice video!! i want to watch more from you

Love it❤

As always being fascinated by automatic watches, you now has convinced me to do a watch myself for myself

Excellent build. May I suggest you get an NH38 movement. It's the same exact movement minus the date complication. It's just a time teller. This simplifies the movement and you don't end up with a ghost position on the crown. Sticking the dial on would've been easier too. 😁

I don't understand how this channel isn't at 3mil, such good vids

crazy good video

dude.....u nailed it down

Looks amazing, I think the contrasting second hand is perfect. You need to do a Gameboy themed watch

It looks so good. You’re a true master at tinkering and an admirable artist. I’d love to see more of these.

You could drill a hole to create the calendar window, the fact that the date window would be round instead of square would add interest also. Only get one chance to get it right though.

I love it

that seiko ur wearing is a beauty

Dude this is so cool! My opinion on the seconds hand is that you don’t really need the seconds hand to tell the time so the fact that it’s a little harder to see makes it easier to read the watch at a quick glance. I think it looks 100% like a design choice and the right choice. Might have a new hobby to take up at some point 😂

These videos are great

Love these videos man! How do you know exactly what parts you need for a custom build? Could you please make a video of your ordering process 🙏🏾

You somewhat influenced me to make my own, and I made it as well a van Gogh dial gold leather watch

I bought a set of the fish bone hands but the original neon coloured ones for my 4R35 tuna, am currently working on my Alba Manta Ray (super rare Samurai spin off by Seiko) and my 7019 Actus "curvy" or jelly bean and still have the 6119-5431 adhered to ma wrist since I refurbished it to factory save for a tiny deep scratch on crystal is just awesome... welcome to the world of Seiko'ing hehe

Watch parts en-route. And it is all because of you sir. Thank you.

Namoki is the place for fancy rotors, I bought a couple full wheel Seiko rotors in there one in dark oily blue and one in bright shiny gold, really sexeh with a display caseback.

As with others, you've inspired me to make my own watch out of parts from AliExpress! They are all on the way. I had no idea with was something I'd ever want to do, but after seeing your videos and just how cheap and how amazing some of the Seiko mod clones look, I had to do it! I've spent just over £100 and the parts should be here in about a week. I am very excited! 😁

The sticker on the rotor probably shouldn't be an issue, as some manufacturers (e.g. Invicta) seem to be doing this too to "customize" SEIKO movements.

damn, my man rocking a Seiko Prospex Land GMT SPB411 ? lets goo!!

Hi Elliot, love the watch you built. Interested in getting a custom dial, the dial link you provide seems no working, can you provide the link again. Thanks much

This looks like something that would be fun to do, but I don’t know when I would use it 😂

In you use a dial with no cutout for the Date Then use a nh38 Moment

As a heads up, those glue strips are known for failing randomly. A more permanent attachment is to put the dial center and in the orientation you want it to be in, then flip the movement over so you don't turn the dial at all and mark on the back where the dial feet should do. Place the marks on the edge of the dial and measure how far in you need to go. You can then get replacement dial feet that either have a plate attached (You have to drill a small recess for these) or get dial feet without them. (You can use a small solid wire for this that's about the right size.) Then you solder the feet to the dial. The faster you do this the less of a chance of damaging the dial with heat. You don't have to be perfectly straight as you can bend the solder a little but the straight the better. This way your dial will be unlikely to come off in the next few decades.

This guy is great.

hi elliot, if possible i would like more videos on the dsi, a repair, special edition, what u want but an dsi video, ty!

A small amount of extra weight isn’t going to damage the automatic works. Just make sure your screws are good and tight

So... Since your first video, I have built an SKX007 all black watch, and im about to get the parts needed for a GMT build in silver/gold (in the style of the GMT master II S&G). and I have just bought a Seiko Samurai case for a silver/blue kinda everyday watch... loving it so far and the reddit community is awesome.

You're making me want a watch.

Love this serie of video. Could you do one with a Audemars piquet royal Oak style? Or a gmt with a chapter ring. Thanks

how do you find which parts are compatible? can you do a video on how to select what to buy, since we now know how to assemble the watch given the parts:)

Final straw, I'm going to order some parts. ❤

The casual flex of the seiko prospex gmt

Cuanta presión haces para las manecillas?

Hello, where did you find a custom dial in Aliexpress, I'm having a hard time finding a seller which could make a custom one. Can someone help?

Best type of videos - watch videosw

Love the videos man, keep making these. btw the link for the dial doesn't work ):

0.04 nice one ;)

i find it so weird, how ive been searching a long time for NICE watches, that like speak to me and seeing ur work, with like custom making them i feel like thats just the way to go. sadly the dude that makes the dials isnt online anime, i cant find them either

I'm just building my "Who cares" watch, and then the notification arrived, nice timing! Btw man, putting the seconds hand seems impossible, since it's custom, I'm thinking about mounting without it 😅

don't stop with this type of video

Nice work tho, i personally would have liked a Dial with function :D

Does sb now a place where you can make custom dials? (the link he provided doesnt work anymore)

Putting the movement in a proper movement holder would have been better for mounting the dial as well but you got it done 🙂 honestly if I saw a new watch manufacturer using dial strips I'd be mad, but for a hobbyist watch constructed at home or for a repair where you can't find a replacement dial they are perfectly fine.

Is the link for the dial wrong? Or has it been changed? I tried it, and it failed.

How do you add an image or art to the face of an analog watch?

I hate to break it to you, but this isn't really a skeleton watch

DREAM

the link for the dial doesn't work... where can you customize the dial like that??

Someone drop links for the tools needed to do this 🙏 trying to build my brother a watch for his bday

next step is to build a watch piece by piece or take a watch apart and clean it and put it back together. i would watch that 🥰

I should try this with some genuine BULOVA watches I have that need the movements installed in them.

You should try building a square shaped watch like Cartier inspired. Also maybe use a leather strap to change it up.

that strap is PERFECT for that watch, only thing that doesn't work are the hands but they're cheap anyways

I really love this stuff unfortunately where I live we're sanctioned to death so we can't buy anything from a foreign website so I can't make one myself but I'm really enjoying you making these videos nice job Elliot