Watch's parts

So, there are some interesting nuances when it comes to watch manufacturing. It is essentially a spectrum. A website I found (The Naked Watchmaker) was referring to it as "T phases". It is as good a way as any to talk about the topic. Those are the different phases of the process:

• T0: Machining the movement's parts and pre-assembly.
• T1: Assembling the rest of the movement.
• T2: Adding the hands, the case, pretty much everything but the straps.
• T3: Adding the straps, and all the packaging (box, pillow, etc.).

The bottom line is that not all watch brands do all those steps. In fact, most (if not all) brands outsource some aspect of the manufacturing.

It is not a bad thing but an interesting question to ask oneself: where in this process do I want to be? It's exciting, because it means one can focus on assembling what one is really exciting about, and then out source the rest of the work.

The movement is especially important, since it will define all the time keeping quality and features of the watch. All micro brands pick an already made movement and focus on the design of the rest of the parts. Them movement brands I see the most on mid range prices are Seiko and Miyota. Then you can use more expensive ones as you go up in prices.

I can see the following path for my watch making journey:

1. Order parts on AliExpress and practice putting watches together. Not the best quality, they will probably sell at a loss, if at all, but it's a good way to test the water.
2. Think of a more refine brand personality and start scouting for parts from more reliable suppliers: Namoki, Somal Canada, etc.
3. Think of a design that is not achievable via pre-made parts, and start scouting for manufacturers. A video I watched (SO YOU WANT TO START A MICROBRAND?? HERE’S HOW I DID IT…) mentioned finding those on AliBaba. Order a sample for every parts you want, make sure you like it and order a bulk. There will be a "minimum order quantity" (MOQ), which may be an issue depending on the number of clients.
4. In parallel to 3, or even from the start, look into really understanding watch's movements. How they work, etc. Order broken watches on Ebay and disassemble them to have a look.
5. Ultimately, see about how to make and manufacture my own movements.

I have already ordered a watch making kit on DIY Watch Club (40mm Vintage Dive Watch Kit. Hopefully I get most of the tools I need and it will be my first experience at making a watch!