Yesterday, I started to try to make an imitation of a Jaeger-LeCoultre JLC Atmos 561 watch. I’ve been eyeing this watch for a while, but the price tag is way out of my league. So, I thought, why not try to make my own version?
First, I spent the whole morning digging through the internet. I was mainly looking on forums like WatchUSeek and some random blogs to see if anyone else had done something like this. I found a couple of threads from a few years back about identifying real versus fake Jaeger-LeCoultre Reversos. That got me a bit worried. I mean, I don’t want my project to look cheap or obviously fake. One guy even said he bought a watch on some site and was freaking out about whether it was real or not, even though it had original papers. Man, buying online is risky!
Here’s what I gathered from my morning research:
- Movement and Dial: These are super important to get right. If these look off, the whole thing screams fake.
- Bracelet: The material and quality need to be on point.
- Back Plate: For the Reverso, it’s a simpler design with a metal back. This is what I was looking for the details.
After lunch, I started to get to work. I had found an old clock mechanism in my garage a while back. It’s not the same as the Atmos, which is like, super fancy and runs on air pressure changes. But, I figured I could modify it to fit the look.
I spent the afternoon disassembling the old clock and cleaning up the parts. I also started sketching out how I wanted the watch face to look. The Atmos 561 has a pretty unique, modern design with those big Roman numerals and the skeletonized look. I wanted to capture that vibe, even if my internals were different.
Trying to Make the Dial
This was the hardest part. I don’t have any fancy watchmaking tools or anything. I tried using some thin metal sheets I had lying around, but it was a disaster. Cutting them into the right shapes and getting the numerals to look decent was way harder than I thought. By evening, I had a pile of scrap metal and a slightly bruised ego.
The Case and Bracelet
I decided to take a break from the dial and work on the case. Luckily, I found an old, broken watch with a similar rectangular shape. I took it apart and started cleaning it up. The bracelet was a bit trickier. I tried using some leather straps, but it just didn’t look right. The Atmos 561 has this polished metal bracelet that’s pretty distinctive. I ended up ordering a cheap metal bracelet online, hoping it would do the trick.
By the end of the day, I had a half-assembled watch case, a pile of failed dial attempts, and a new bracelet on the way. It’s not exactly the Jaeger-LeCoultre I dreamed of, but it’s a start. I’m hoping that with a bit more work, I can make something that at least resembles the real deal. I’ll keep you all updated on my progress. Maybe tomorrow I’ll have better luck with the dial. Wish me luck!
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