Dissecting Chronos

After realizing the intricate process of dismantling a wrist watch in my effort to create a Steampunk inspired accessory, I now realize how painstakingly accurate each gear fits to make that tiny machine work. It's amazing! And inspiring! And irritating!

It took me days to slowly undo the handiwork as my patience quickly fades at every turn of a screw with a slit as thin as four clumps of hair. As the dismantling happens so do I feel every bit of concentration drain out until my attention span eventually reaches a zero. Thus, I pack up my drivers and what's left of the watch to do the same process another day. It's quite the challenge especially to an impatient soul, but it's a nice ritual to get one's self dizzy enough for bed. A possible cure for insomnia.

I'll never look at watches the same way again. Now I know why people collect them and why some reach several hundred thousands.

It was quite a nice find to hunt down the streets of Manila in search of broken clock pieces. I've gone to ask some people on the streets, asking them to give me a fair price for hopelessly busted clock gears (they call it "makina") because I need them. I was met with awkward stares and misunderstood intentions as they kept giving me high prices for signature watches. 

"I don't want a working one! If you give me a working one I'll break it!"
He stares at me, confused.
"I need to dismantle the watch because I need to use the gears to make accessories."
"I have one, a Breitling. It's a brand that is the same level as OMEGA."
"How much?"
"300"
"But it's broken!"
"It's Breitling."
"Ok, thank you." I then walked away.

Another encounter was the old guy where I bought six pieces of watch.

"I need to buy a broken watch."
"I have some working ones."
"No, I need broken ones because I only need the gears."
"Why do you need them? Are you a watchmaker?" Peers at me suspiciously and hesitates to show me anything.
"What? No! I'm gonna make them into bracelets and accessories. I want to use the gears to make pendants."
"Ahhh..." digs up a dusty piece of box at the bottom of this cabinet and shows me broken watch pieces, "here, they're all broken."
"How much?"
"100 each."
"But they're broken."
"These are signature watches."
"How about 50 for a wholesale price?"
"Okay, but you need to buy ten for a wholesale."
"I'll buy six, I'll give you 300."
"Okay."

And that's how I acquired these pieces. When things turn great, I'll probably go back to find more watches, next time with better brands. Nyahahaha! But for now, I'm fine with several Seiko watches as I like how their gears turn when the man shook them. HA! Amateur! I need to learn my stuff and not easily give in when I see shiny moving objects.