First month is over

 Hello everyone, time is flying by! Our new students have already been here for a month and are quickly learning how to use all the machinery in our school. Soon they will take their first filling exam.  On the topic of exams, Bernd took his escarpment adjustment exam and did very well, now he only has one more exam to take before his final test.

Here is view of the chilly walk to school in the morning.

Jaewon had taken upon himself to start a very interesting restoration project. He is restoring a vintage JLC Memovox with an alarm complication, this watch has many pieces missing and will not be an easy job. Here we can see the alarm function at work. 

Here is also some of his hand turning practices.

Joan started to restore a mysterious little pocket with a solid golden case and a cylinder escapement. The winding stem was rusted solid into the case, but some a lot of work it came loose and is ready for a deep clean.

Old beauty 

 

Ready for cleaning 

That’s it for this week, hoping for less snow on the weekend.

Until next time!

Cenic Visit

   Week 4

This Friday, the school made a trip to Cenic Watches to peruse their shelves and shelves of watch tools and selection of movements. The owners were helpful as ever, and the visit was full of tempting purchases.

 

STUDENT HIGHLIGHTS

Workshop A

Students:

    Bernd, Caio, Cesar, Guilherme, Joan, Louis Lu

     This week Cesar tried his hand at restoring a cannon pinion from an old pocket watch. The thin walls of the original tube had torn, so he press-fit a new tube into the pinion and turned it to the correct shape.

 

 

Joan continued the technician course, using the jewel pusher to adjust the divisions and endshakes of the geartrain. 

Pressing the center wheel jewel to the correct height

 

Workshop B

Students:
    Christiaan, Craig, Gary, Jaewon, Philippe, Sense    

 

Christiaan and Gary started their introduction fine micromechanics with exercises of turning between centers. This is a method of using the watchmaker's lathe to achieve near-perfect concentricity. They will need to be practiced in this method to make accurate pivots.

 

 

 

Last week, Craig took a short break from his final exam preparations and used the Geneva Stripe setup to make a new variant he devised: Pinwheel Stripes! We may be seeing these on future projects of his...

 

Jaewon began hand-turning on the watchmaker's lathe, finishing one shallow female cone and one deep one.

 

Thank you for reading!

Hope to see you again next week

Warming up

 All of our students are warming up. The new students are picking up better techniques for filling and shaping that brass. Slowly going insane filling square after square. The senior students are working on pallet fork adjustment. A fun new skill with a lot of time spent under the microscope.

Henrik gave us a class on Geneva stripes and different techniques used to make it. 

Here is Chris taking a shot at the stripes

Jaewon is once again having fun and making chess pieces in the lathe. 

Gary over here made a custom graver handle to take care of his fingers.

That’s it’s for this week! Until next time.

New Year: Start!

   Week 2

Here's hoping everyone had joyous holidays and a restful vacation, because now it's time to get back to work!

This week the school welcomes two new students for its fullskill program: Guilherme and Caio. The world of horology awaits them. 

Guilherme (left) and Caio (right) getting settled into their workbenches

 

STUDENT HIGHLIGHTS

Workshop A

Students:

    Bernd, Cesar, Caio, Guilherme, Joan, Louis Lu

     Bernd, Cesar, Joan, and Louis Lu got right back into the technician course with lessons on the escapement. There's plenty to learn here, from the proper clearance for the safety features to the method for adjusting the pallet jewels for proper lock.

 

Joan also used some of his time this week to work on barrel adjustments. 

 

Lubricating a mainspring

Adding braking grease to the rim of an automatic barrel

Workshop B

Students:
    Christiaan, Craig, Gary, Jaewon, Philippe, Sense    

 

Christiaan spent this week on the lathe, cutting and polishing hour wheels.

 

 

 Jaewon put his had to some woodworking; making a graver handle to make hand-turning a little more comfortable.

Thank you for reading!

Hope to see you again next week

That’s a wrap

 

Always a special week, we say goodbye to our new watchmaker and clean the workshop to begin again. Art graduated with flying colours and we’ve said our farewells. 

Starting chronologically, we celebrated the birthday of two of our students. Cesar(myself) and Chris have their birthdays on the same day, unfortunately the flu got to Chris on the day.

Then came the big day, the graduation!

We’re all proud of this watchmaker 

Friends and family came to attend ceremony. The school took a trip to visit the mines of Le Locle and learn some of the history of this ancient town. Thank you for Svenja for organising the event.

After some nice words and drinks we all went out for dinner.

Eating well

Today, on the last day we all clean the workshop throughly leaving every surface spotless, ready to be made dirty again next year. 

Now some words from each of us, looking back through the year.

Art:

Just proud to finish the course successfully, learned a lot, achieved good results and learned some discipline at the professional workplace

Joan:

Despite a rough start, the passion for watchmaking has allowed me to keep up with the demands for a successful first year. I'm proud of having learned multiple hand crafts that now enable me to make any part of a watch, and so push me one step closer to the goal of becoming a fully trained watchmaker. Really excited for the second year awaiting, and starting the firsts drafts for my own piece.

Louis:

This year I learned many watchmaking techniques and actually made some. After a year of study at school, I'm one step closer to becoming a watchmaker.

Cesar:

Completed the first year, a year of micro mechanics. Learned priceless skills from truly great teachers. I have made great headway on a project of making a series of dials for an independent company which will be done next year. Super excited to start the technician course and start restoring some beautiful watches.

Bernd:

I got the very first Open Movement Academy Watch. I‘m looking forward to assembling and regulating it next year.

Jae won:

It has been 3 month and a half and I achieved how to work with machine, with my hand and learned how to plan a project in watchmaking ways. Finished every tools except the brass anvil. Got enough filling skill to escape from the any jail.

Craig:

This year I am proud of bringing my watch from initial concept to fabrication. And I still managed to complete the technician course curriculum several months ahead of schedule.

A beauty

Nine:

This year has been incredible, and it’s hard to believe it’s my last year of school. I’m proud of myself for making it to the end—surrounded by all the watchmakers who somehow helped shape me into a better and a stronger person.Time to say goodbye. Xoxo 💋

Sens:

Looking back from my first day at KHWCC to the end of 2025, I can clearly see how much I’ve grown. I’ve developed stronger hand skills, improved my precision, and learned to use essential watchmaking tools with more confidence. Step by step, I’ve built a better understanding of mechanical principles, which helps me work more independently and tackle new tasks with a clearer mindset.

I’m also proud of my personal growth. I’ve learned patience, discipline, and the importance of steady practice—qualities that are just as valuable as technical skills. These experiences have shaped my foundation as an aspiring watchmaker, and I look forward to continuing my progress in the year ahead.

Phil:

 My accomplishments

1. Passed the first exam on filing;

2. Completed the tripod;

3. Completed the Pointed head nose vise;

4. Completed the press fit pieces; and

5. Brass turning exercise.

Those exercises were challenging, but I really have fun making these pieces.

Gary:

This year, I got case machining down to under 50 hours and got better at enameling.

Chris:

Last year I used to break watches, this year I break watches....but now I know why

The final week has come

And we celebrated with rum

Another year of horological ventures

All prepared for the next adventures 

Some of us are departing 

Now it’s the future they are charting 

Though time never halts

Through it we’ll fix our faults

Together we built an isthmus

I’d like to wish you all a Merry Christmas 

  

  

Thanksgiving! (or close enough)

 

   Week 49

This week Craig continued his tradition of organizing a school-wide potluck to celebrate the U.S. holiday of Thanksgiving. The feast had to be delayed a week due to Art's final exam, but there was enough delicious food that no one cared too much about such details. Nearly everyone in the school brought something, from Craig's staple Chicken Pot Pie and Michael's Malaysian chicken skewers, to Christiaan's cheese rolls made with Vegemite and Joan's Tortilla de Patatas. Even Henrik made traditional Swedish Gubbröra.

STUDENT HIGHLIGHTS

Workshop A

Students:
    Art, Bernd, Cesar, Joan, Louis Lu, Mun, Nine

     Bernd, Cesar, Joan, and Louis Lu are working through maintenance of the gear train, learning how to inspect and true the wheels to perfect flatness.

Workshop B

Students:
    Christiaan, Craig, Gary, Jaewon, Philippe, Sense    

 

Christiaan, Gary, and Philippe were busy this week, learning both how to use the boring attachment of the jig borer and how to cut gear teeth on the lathe.

 

 

Christiaan lining up the gear tooth cutter to the correct height

 Jaewon also had a productive week, finishing both his pointed nose vise and polishing tripod base, both with a sparkling sandblasted finish.

Pointed nose vise

Tripod base

Thank you for reading!

Hope to see you again next week

The end is near

 This Friday Artemiy has finished his final exam. 5 movements in 5 days, so this weekend is time for celebration.

Hard at work

Craig has also managed to finished manufacturing all the parts for his school watch. When assembled it beats soundly! It is a lovely manual wound calibre, now what is left for him is adjustments and the finishing. 

Jaewon learnt this week how to operate ours school’s jig borer, so he can finish making the tools in the micro mechanics course. Although it is not a very dangerous machine compared to the others, it is the most complicated to use. 

Gary always experimenting, is now trying some enamel dial variations with different layers of powder. They are coming out very lovely!

Blue like the ocean

A few of our students drove up the mountain last night in the snow to attend an event in the watchmaking museum. The event was the 179 years anniversary of Ulysse Nardin. A talk was given on the history of marine chronometers and their technical development. Afterwards we were given the opportunity to see some lovely pieces produced by them.

Until next time!