A good client from Germany approached us with a request to create a new case for a movement preserved from a family watch. The original gold case had long ago been melted down, while the movement itself survived, and the time had come to give it a new home. There was no time for a full photo report, so I photographed what I could. Let us take a look at the key stages of this project.
As a design reference, we chose a case with “olive” lugs in the style of the earliest World War One trench watches. The movement serial number dates it to 1887, so the earlier the case style, the better the result would feel.
An important advantage of this case design is that it consists entirely of turned parts, which means it can be made on a basic lathe without the need for more complex machinery.
The first stage was turning the blank rings on the lathe. The material is a standard 50 mm stainless steel bar. We made the central case ring and two bezels. It took a full workday, and a great deal of steel went into chips.
Next, we turned the “olives” for the strap attachment in a vintage style.
The “olives” then had to be drilled and threaded so they could be fixed to the case with hidden screws from the inside. This case was made in 2020 using simple, basic equipment. Today, in 2026, we would attach the lugs by laser welding rather than screws, but six years ago we did not yet have access to that technology.
This is the set of blanks prepared for the next stage of assembling the watch case.
We then test-assembled the case and inserted only the main plate of the movement to check the dimensions. This made it possible to confirm the fit without risking damage to more fragile components.
The first assembly and test fitting allowed us to check how the parts sat in terms of diameter and height. This was also the stage for test fitting and drilling the hole for the winding stem and crown.
A separate stage of the work was preparing and servicing the movement itself. Not every pocket watch movement is suitable for reliable use in a wristwatch, so restoring the mechanics properly takes real effort. The movement was fully dismantled and serviced. A movement from 1887 requires pivot polishing and the closing of worn oval holes. New replacement parts simply do not exist, so the original components had to be restored.
The movement was then assembled into the case.
Even before the case is made, it is important to understand what kind of strap the watch will be worn on. In this case, the lugs came out at 19 mm, which means both NATO-style nylon straps and leather “Aviator” straps with screws are suitable.
The caseback was fitted with a crystal so that the antique movement could remain visible.
This is how a “wrist museum” was created from a movement that had lost its original case and then spent decades forgotten in a drawer.
