After setting the hands on the dial (and figuring out the trick to setting the second hand), and pushing in the winding stem, it came to life!

The Bellingham Bay is based off the classical Tudor Heritage Black Bay watch in case, bezel, and snowflake hands. The dial I had originally designed to have laser etched, however we found that lasering the dial would not let the letters stand out (they come out a dark matte color). I have an alternate dial en route from Singapore, that is a derivation of another watch I admire; the Omega Seamaster 300.

I am not a fan of the tube and crown on this case, and thinking about removing it in favor of a more traditional Rolex crown and tube system (and will perhaps increase the water-sealing of the case as a whole). I may do this at the same time as replacing the winding stem as I have to replace it as I cut it 3 threads too short.

I’ve also found that the edges of the case are a bit sharp, and plan to refine them by way of grinding and buffing.

For a working 1.0 watch, working from the ground up with no watchmaking background; I am pretty happy with the results. Using globally sourced parts has been challenging, but in this micro scale of making; can see how parts differ from manufacturer to manufacturer. I can see (with a 7x loupe) the precision the Swiss have put in their matchmaking and see why it is the standard everyone compares to. The movement in the Bellingham Bay was sourced from Switzerland, and is a Sellita SW200-1 movement (non-elaborate).

On to phase 3!