Fulvia Watch

[Scott]

Went to the Goodwood Revival on Sunday. Lovely weather and spotted a few Lancias. I thought this event would also be a good date in the calendar to get my Fulvia inspired watch finished for! [Before I start please let me stress I am an amateur watch enthusiast and this is just meant to be a bit of fun rather than some serious horological masterpiece!].

The dial is based around the rev counter on the Fulvia with the numbers and markers picked out in brass. I did consider employing some artistic licence to adjust the marker positions to match hour positions but then if, for example, I'd started the 10 (1000 rpm) in the 8 o'clock position then I'd have 70 at 2 o'clock and this would just look wrong! So I decided the layout of the Fulvia's rev counter should be kept sacrosanct and telling the minutes is simply by the relative position of the rev counter / minute hand. In terms of an hour hand I didn't want this to dominate and take away from the rev counter design so it is instead a discrete marker on a black disc. The time in the photo is thus 10:10. [In any case as a 'minute marker' design I wanted a primary function to be able to judge at just a quick glance whilst driving the 'minutes past' whatever hour and in that respect the design works really well; certainly better than normal analogue watches I have]. Where I did take artistic licence is with the bezel which is to represent the Fulvia's steering wheel but which I have made from amboyna burl wood. The movement is a nice 21,600 bph movement from the same era as the Fulvia and I made a display case back so it isn't hidden away, changed the date disc to be black-on-white and appear in the 'choke on' six o'clock position etc.

I could go on further but I realise this is already off the usual topics ... just thought you might find this a bit different and interesting.  

[DavidLaver]

Lovely!

Any build pictures?  How are the numbers made?

[Jaydub]

I like that Scott!  Are you making any more? Are you selling them or are they too labour intensive to be a viable sellable item?

[Scott]

Thanks David. Unfortunately I didn't take that many pictures but I attach a little montage below for some of the build. This might belittle the amount of time to make the dial and doesn't include all stripping down and reassembly of the watch etc. but gives an idea of some of the stages. 
I was going to start out by taking numbers from spare dials and handmaking the zeroes (given the quantity needed) but then chanced across some suitably sized numbers from a modelling website which made things easier. The batons meanwhile were handmade from brass rod. The dial construction was a fiddly job though (also given that I wanted a lustrous black dial). I had experimented with painting the numbers white but thought this hid all that nice brass work and that the brass-and-black just looked better for the style of watch.

Jay - I've been mending and restoring mechanical watches as a hobby for a few years now but more recently I've started to make some watches of my own design - like this Fulvia watch - just for a bit of fun. I hadn't even considered if anyone would be interested from a commercial perspective! Sure this 'v1' was labour intensive as it was an experiment and is unique but with the lessons learnt it could be recreated a little more easily if there were a next time or someone had a particular request!

[DavidLaver]

I really can't contemplate how anyone works at that scale.  Hats off !!!

[Jaydub]

Hi Scott, I really like it, any idea of cost to repeat it?

[Scott]

Hi Jay - tricky one as I'd never even considered this!

Parts (quality vintage movement, parts to service and repair plus a new case being the most expensive) probably just north of £100 on this watch ... but what then for labour?. For me it's effectively free so I have something bespoke and unique at a pretty reasonable cost ... but what would you charge someone else for all that labour? I guess pick a per-hour figure you think is reasonable for 'skilled-but-amateur' work and assume about a man working week at circa 40 hours to complete (I made this watch over a period of time for fun so didn't clock time I'd spent on it but this feels about right).

If you consider that just the professional service on one of the big brand watches is circa £700 (something that can be done in a day) then maybe what price you come up with doesn't seem so bad in comparison ... but of course it is still amateur work!

If you had money to burn you could engage a professional watchmaker e.g. http://www.strutherswatchmakers.co.uk/bespoke, who for a minimum of £30,000 will design and build whatever you like!    

[Jaydub]

Hi Scott, thanks for the reply. As I thought, like car restoration, the sum of the parts, labour etc. often outweighs the value of the end product. However congratulations on a nice looking and unique timepiece. Look forward to seeing more.
Jaydub

[ColinMarr]

I am impressed by this - design, workmanship and commitment, and in another world I would quite like one!

Knowing that it's OK on this forum to reactivate relevant old posts, let me repeat one that I sent earlier:

I have never been afflicted by watches and clocks to the same extent, but I have had numerous Lancia friends who have been. One good friend from the 1960s, who had an Aurelia B20 when I had my Aprilia went on to become an expert horologist and film maker – his later cars included a Flaminia Sport and an Appia. See the link below for one of his recently made animated films. There is nothing in this that is directly related to cars, but there is a lot in it to do with some of the qualities of excellence and ingenuity that I associate with Lancia. Play the film with sound on – enjoy!

http://redfernanimation.com/

Colin