The 10th Anniversary Watch: Iteration Two

Still 0/3, But I Like Where This Is Heading

I haven't fully solved any of the three problems from last week (and I didn’t expect to, yet). Today’s time in the workshop was fun, felt like progress and in indulging a creative new addition, I am happy with this next iteration which is now cased up and on my wrist.

The Dancer: Smaller, Patterned, Readable

The first dancer was too subtle—bold in Lightburn, nearly invisible IRL. I reduced the scale and added a geometric pattern fill. The pattern transforms the silhouette: at smaller scale, the internal geometry makes it read sharper against the rest of the dial.

I'll iterate on the pattern itself down the road. But this version proves to me that the concept works.

Purple Evolved

The first dial was blue-purple—safe but flat. This iteration leans hard into purple-red, closer to beet than Welch’s Grape. I painted the dial, let it cure fully, then mounted it on a cordless drill and ran a black fumé edge with the airbrush as it rotated. It could have gone a bit more towards deep black but I was worried about over doing it.

Indices: The Friction Fit System May Be A Winner

Single indices at every hour. Double index at 12. 0.2mm pegs into 0.2mm holes. Most ended up only friction fit. I still tried a few with an old oiler to better manage the adhesive but even working at that scale, I still managed to make a mess in a few spots. The tolerance is tight bit I landed 2 or 3 on the first try. Last week, this task was enough to make me question this hobby altogether. Much like golf, hitting one or two good shots is enough to convince me to come back for the next round.

I will wear this watch a bit and see if the indices stay put…

Also, given that the milestone that inspired this project is a 10th anniversary, I indulged a creative impulse to replace the index at 10 with a brass relief numeral. It takes away a bit of the elegance but I am leaning towards liking this.