Watchmaking The course

Watchmaking course from home

Learn the basics of watchmaking from your living room.

Start the course, from €149 See the kits ▶ Ten minutes free

Online course & kits

A real movement, on your own table.

It's what I do with my students in the workshop: take a calibre apart, clean every part, put it back together and oil it. I filmed it at the bench so you can do it at home, at whatever pace suits you. If you don't have tools, you can buy the kit that suits your project, and it's yours to keep.

I started watchmaking about fifteen years ago, and back then there was very little to learn on your own, at home. If I make this course today, it's because it's what I wish I'd had when I started.

Online · at your own pace

Online course — 6497 calibre

The 6497 is a hand-wound calibre, big enough to see what you're doing. It's the one I give every beginner.

€149

or 3 × €49.67 interest-free with Klarna

  • 5 chapters filmed at the bench, 1 h 54 of video
  • The step-by-step guide, to keep beside the movement
  • Your questions, asked at the exact second of the video — I answer them myself
  • The 6497 in 3D and the watchmaking calculations lesson, in motion
  • Access with no end date, on your computer and your tablet
  • Your certificate at the end, to add to LinkedIn
  • One hour of video lesson with me, included
  • A part lost or broken during the course: I send you the first one, free

By Tristan Ledard, qualified watchmaker, Young Talent prize of the AHCI and François-Paul Journe

Buy online Order the course See the kits

Not sure yet? Watch the first ten minutes of the disassembly first, free →

Watch the course
  1. i.

    Order

    The course and, if you like, a tool kit and a 6497 movement.

  2. ii.

    Receive

    Your access arrives by e-mail, your tools by post.

  3. iii.

    Learn

    Watch the videos and follow the guide whenever you like, as many times as you need.

How the course works

You learn at home, at your own pace, but you are not on your own: I'm there all the way through.

A question, the moment it comes up While you watch a video, a button lets you ask me your question at that exact point. It reaches me with the chapter and the second of the video, and I answer it myself, in your space and by e-mail.
And about something other than the video Working on another watch, another movement? The “My bench” tab of your space lets you ask me at any time, with a photo of what's in front of you.
One hour by video, included One hour of live lesson with me is included in the course. You pick the time from your space; we share the screen and I film the movement on my bench.
Understanding what you take apart The calculation part of the course explains the gear train, the escapement and the barrel on the 6497 in 3D. It goes well with the hands-on work, especially if you're aiming for watchmaking training afterwards.

Your student area

This is what you find when you sign in with your code: the whole course in one place, on a computer or a tablet.

The chapters and the video: you pick up where you left off.
A question at the exact moment of the video. It reaches me with the second, and the answer stays under the chapter.
Your hour by video: you pick the slot, I confirm.
Practise between chapters: the movement in 3D, the calculations, regulating, water resistance, quartz.
A timegrapher like the one in the workshop, and the balance: turn the stud carrier and the regulator, see what changes.
The documents: the glossary, the step-by-step service, the files.

For students

The course movement, in 3D.

In your student area this 6497 is yours to handle: turn it all the way round, above and below, lift the layers off one by one and tap a part to see its name. This is what it looks like.

In the student area

Understanding how it works, on the real movement.

The lesson on watch calculations sits beside the course's 6497, in 3D and running: the train and its ratios, the escapement slowed down step by step, the mainspring being wound and letting down, the crown pushed in to wind and pulled out to set the time. Tap any part for its name.

In the student area

Regulate a watch, try it now.

In the course, a timegrapher like the one in my workshop, wired to the 6497's balance. Turn the stud carrier: the beat error changes. Turn the regulator: the rate changes. What follows is the real lesson, live.

RATE s/dayBEAT ERROR (count down s)AMPLITUDE deg
----------
AUT288002 522GRAPH
BEAT MODEBEATS PER HOURMEAS. TIMELIFT ANGLEGRAPH RESOL.TEST MODE

timegrapher · l'atelier TL

sig level
freeze print cursor speaker

Your turn: regulate it

Turn the stud carrier or the regulator with a finger, right on the balance, or with the sliders. The rate and the beat error change on the machine, just like on the one in the workshop. The stud carrier takes the regulator with it.

And on your own watch, in the student area: the timegrapher and its microphone →

Water resistance, tested as in the workshop.

The course's test bench: the case cut in half in the chamber, the crystal and caseback giving way, the air getting in where it leaks, and the curve I read on my machine. A sound case, a crystal pressed in too loose, a worn crown seal.

Watchmaking tool kits

I put the kits together myself. I chose each tool for the best balance of quality and price: they are not the most high-end tools, but they are made to last. The kit's screwdrivers, for example, are the ones I use every day at work.

Essential movement kit

€99

or 3 × €33 interest-free with Klarna

In stock
  • Box
  • Loupe set
  • Dust cover
  • Tweezers
  • Screwdrivers
  • 6497 movement holder
  • Presto hand remover
Buy onlineOrder

Classic kit

€189

or 3 × €63 interest-free with Klarna

In stock
  • Screwdrivers
  • Dust cover
  • Dust blower
  • Friction ball
  • Movement holder
  • Casing cushion
  • Loupe set
  • Oilers
  • Dial protector
  • Finger cots
  • Tweezers
  • 6497 movement holder
  • Presto hand remover
  • Hand setter
Buy onlineOrder

Oiling & cleaning kit

€279

or 3 × €93 interest-free with Klarna

In stock
  • Screwdrivers
  • Oil
  • Dust cover
  • Dust blower
  • Friction ball
  • Movement holder
  • Casing cushion
  • Loupe set
  • Oilers
  • Dial protector
  • Finger cots
  • Tweezers
  • 6497 movement holder
  • Presto hand remover
  • Hand setter
  • Cleaning jar
  • Box
  • Rodico
Buy onlineOrder

The next courses

Filmed at the bench like the first, with the same questions, the same space and the same certificate.

Coming soon

ETA 2824-2 — automatic winding, the date, regulating and testing

€119

Tell me when

Movements, watches & accessories

ShippingTracked and insured parcel, 2 to 4 working days in Europefrom €13

Order it all at once

The course, a kit, the movement: tick what you want, the total adds up.

A tool kit

To go further

Total€149

Secure payment by Stripe: card, iDEAL, Bancontact, Apple Pay — or in 3 interest-free instalments with Klarna.

A part lost or broken during the course? I send you the first one, free.

Courses at my workshop

From December, I welcome you at my workshop in Twente. You work at the bench, with my tools, on a movement I provide. Only a few places per date, so I can be beside you the whole time.

1 day

A day on the 6497

€289 per person

or 3 × €96.33 interest-free with Klarna

  • The ETA 6497 hand-wound calibre, the one in the online course
  • Full disassembly, cleaning, reassembly and oiling
  • Regulating on the timegrapher: rate and beat error
  • Tools and movement provided

Dates are coming: tell me which ones suit you.

Ask for a date
1 day

A day on the 2824

€329 per person

or 3 × €109.67 interest-free with Klarna

  • The ETA 2824-2 automatic calibre
  • The automatic module, the date and the hand setting
  • Disassembly, cleaning, reassembly and oiling
  • Regulating on the timegrapher
  • Tools and movement provided

Dates are coming: tell me which ones suit you.

Ask for a date
2 days

Two days: your own 6497 watch

€999 per person

or 3 × €333 interest-free with Klarna

  • The 6497 taken apart, cleaned, reassembled and regulated
  • You make parts: screws, a wheel
  • You modify the bridges and the dial
  • Casing up: dial, hands, case and strap
  • You leave with the watch you made

Dates are coming: tell me which ones suit you.

Ask for a date
A dial being openworked on the milling machine, on its brass plate.
A dial being openworked on the milling machine, on its brass plate.
The same work at the start: the first holes in the dial.
The same work at the start: the first holes in the dial.
Dial side: the openwork shows the movement.
Dial side: the openwork shows the movement.
The movement beside its case, before casing up.
The movement beside its case, before casing up.
The same watch from both sides: the dial, and the movement at the back.
The same watch from both sides: the dial, and the movement at the back.
At the back, the reworked 6497 bridges.
At the back, the reworked 6497 bridges.
A finished watch.
A finished watch.
On the bench, hands fitted.
On the bench, hands fitted.

Tailor-made courses

A course built around what you want to learn

Servicing your own watch, understanding an automatic calibre, learning regulation or skeletonising: tell me what interests you. Beyond the workshop courses above, I build the course around your project and your level.

  • At my workshop In the Netherlands, with all the bench tooling.
  • At your home, on your own If you are on my way between the Netherlands and France — from Lille to Méru, then from Méru to Caen — within a 50 km detour, I stop at your place.
  • As a group, in France and Belgium At your company, your club or your shop: I come with the tools and the movements, for several people at once.
  1. You describe your project and your level
  2. I suggest a programme and a price
  3. We set the date together

Ask for a tailor-made course

6497 mechanical movement in a holder

Give the online course

You can also add the kit and a movement.

Order one

Not sure yet?

The first ten minutes of the disassembly.

Leave your e-mail: I'll send you the start of the chapter on taking the movement apart, just as my students see it, to watch for seven days.

Here is everything you're going to take apart, and put back together, part by part.

In video

The bench, the gestures and the movements, filmed in the workshop.

Videos only load when you click, so there's no YouTube cookie before that.

The questions people ask me

Do I need to know anything about watchmaking already?

No. We start with how to hold the tools and how to sit, and go all the way to rebuilding a movement. I use the 6497 because it's large, easy to read, and sturdy enough for a first strip-down.

What exactly do I receive?

Access to the student area with the videos chapter by chapter and the guide, one hour of video lesson with me, included, and, depending on the formula you choose, the 6497 movement and the tool kit sent to your home. The tools are yours to keep.

How long do I have access to the course?

Access does not expire. Your code opens the course on a few devices, your computer and your tablet for instance. If you change machine, write to me and I'll free the slot.

Can I ask questions along the way?

Yes. In the student area you ask your question at the exact point in the video. It reaches me with the chapter and the second, and I answer it myself.

Can I take a course with you in person?

Yes. At my workshop in the Netherlands; at your home if you are on my way between Lille, Méru and Caen, within a 50 km detour; or as a group at your company or club, in France and Belgium. Write to me with your project and I will suggest a programme and a price.

What if I lose or break a part?

It happens, especially the first time: a screw that jumps, a spring that flies off. I send you the first replacement part, free.

Do I need a workshop or expensive tools?

A table, good light and a little space are enough. The kit holds what the course needs; nothing else is required to finish it.

Where do you ship, and how fast?

Anywhere in Europe, and to Canada (Québec included), as a tracked parcel from the Netherlands, with the invoice. The tracking number is sent to you the day it leaves. For Canada, allow one to two weeks; any Canadian taxes are paid on delivery.

How can I pay?

By card or iDEAL on a secure page, at once or in 3 interest-free instalments with Klarna (from 35 €), or by bank transfer: the IBAN and the reference are on the invoice, with a code to scan from your banking app.

And if the course is not for me?

Write to me. The terms of sale set out the right of withdrawal and what happens to a kit already opened; in practice, it always starts with a message.

Are the lessons pre-recorded, or at fixed times?

Pre-recorded. You follow the course whenever you like, at your own pace, even with irregular working hours. If you have a question during a video, you ask it right there and I answer you directly; the answer appears in your space. Only the free hour by video with me is live, at a time you choose.

I live in Québec or elsewhere in Canada: is that possible?

Yes. The course is online and filmed in French; you follow it from wherever you are. The kit and the movement leave the Netherlands as a tracked parcel, with Canadian shipping; any Canadian taxes are paid on delivery. For the hour by video, my slots are shown in Paris time, six hours ahead of Montréal: my evenings are your afternoons.

Two ways to pay

By card, iDEAL or in 3 instalments

Secure payment by Stripe, at once or in 3 interest-free instalments with Klarna. Your access is sent as soon as it is confirmed.

Buy online

By transfer or iDEAL

Write to us: you receive an invoice with the IBAN and a reference. Access follows the payment.
Put your name and what you are buying in the description of the transfer: that is what lets the workshop recognise your payment and send your access.

Pay by bank transfer

Contact

Write to me.