January 27, 2026
The watch factory in Hangzhou, China makes some very cool watch movements. I use them in a lot of the time gages I build. I recently purchased a complete watch (made by Minifocus) with an interesting HZ movement, which I plan on modifying in the near future.
Esthetically speaking, this watch is a complete disaster under the crystal! It has a dial that mimics a skeletonized mainplate, complete with fake screws and a fake jewel over the mainspring barrel. Why a watch company would cover up a nice skeletonized movement with such a monstrosity, is beyond me.
It’s pretty obvious that the first thing I have to do is excise this tumor, and see what lies beneath…
January 29, 2026
Disassembled the watch, removed the hands, and separated the dial from the movement today. Using a Jeweler’s saw, I cut off the whole mess around the main spring barrel. I also put a bevel around the perimeter of the new ring dial, that contrasts well with the black of the movement…
Much, much cleaner in my opinion… and now that I can see the movement underneath, a plan can develop about how I’m going to engrave and further modify it…
