JPK Watches

Finished pieces

Builds

Every watch here started as a box of parts from three different sellers. Full parts lists and real costs, including the bits I got wrong and had to buy twice.

No. 1 NH35A 42 mm

"Blue Hour" — the one that taught me everything

First full build. A sunburst blue dial in a brushed diver case, and every mistake you'd expect: a fingerprint under the crystal that I didn't see until it was pressed, a second hand set a hair too low so it fouled the minute hand at 3:00, and a bezel insert I glued before test-fitting. All of it was fixable except my patience.

It still runs at about +8 seconds a day and I wear it more than watches that cost twenty times as much.

PartSourceCost
NH35A movementDHgate$31
42 mm diver case, drilled lugsDHgate$47
Sunburst blue dialDHgate$18
Sword hand set, BGW9 lumeDHgate$12
Double-domed sapphire, blue ARAliExpress$22
Oyster bracelet, solid endsDHgate$28
Second dial + hands (see above)DHgate$30
Total, including the do-overs$188
No. 2 NH38 39 mm

"Field Note" — smaller, quieter, no date

I wanted something under 40 mm with no date window, which immediately narrows the parts pool. Went with an NH38 (open-heart-free, no date) in a 39 mm brushed field case with a matte olive dial and gilt hands.

The lesson from this one was dial feet. The dial I ordered was advertised as NH35-compatible but the feet sat about 0.3 mm out. Dial dots and a steady hand fixed it, but I'd rather have paid $4 more for a dial that fit.

PartSourceCost
NH38A movementAliExpress$34
39 mm field caseDHgate$38
Matte olive dialDHgate$16
Gilt syringe handsDHgate$11
Flat sapphire, 30.5 mmAliExpress$14
Horween-style leather strapAliExpress$15
Total$128
No. 3 Seiko 7S26 Rescue

"Salvage" — a donor watch brought back

Not a parts build so much as a rescue. A seized 7S26 out of a beaten-up case, stripped, cleaned, re-oiled and dropped into a case I already had. First movement I fully disassembled rather than just swapping as a unit.

Reassembling the pallet fork and balance took three attempts and one genuinely lost evening. When it finally started ticking on the bench I made a noise that concerned the dog.

PartSourceCost
Donor watch, non-runningLocal listing$25
Movement service oils, starter setAliExpress$22
Replacement mainspringDHgate$9
Case back gasket setDHgate$6
Case & crystalParts bin—
Total$62

Next up

On the bench now

A 36 mm dress build with a hand-wound movement, because I've never worked on one without a rotor in the way. Waiting on a crystal that's been "in transit" for five weeks, which is the most authentic part of the whole hobby.

The parts for it are all listed on the parts & tools page.