Okay, so I’ve been working on this project for a bit, trying to do my own take on the Jaeger-LeCoultre JLC Duomètre Sphérotourbillon. Yeah, it’s a mouthful, and yeah, it’s a crazy complicated watch. But I figured, why not give it a shot? Here’s how it’s been going.
Getting Started
First off, I spent a good chunk of time just staring at pictures and videos of this watch. I mean, this thing is a beast. It’s got a tourbillon that spins in multiple directions, a second time zone, and all sorts of other fancy stuff. I started by sketching out the basic layout, trying to figure out where all the gears and things would go.
The Nitty-Gritty
Then came the fun part – actually building it. Now, I don’t have all the fancy tools and machines that JLC has, so I had to get creative. I used a lot of 3D-printed parts, some laser-cut pieces, and whatever else I could find lying around. It was a lot of trial and error, let me tell you.
- The Tourbillon Cage: This was by far the hardest part. Getting it to spin smoothly in multiple directions took forever. I messed up so many times.
- The Gear Train: Figuring out the gear ratios to keep everything in sync was a real headache. Lots of math involved, and my brain hurt.
- The Dial: I wanted it to look somewhat like the original, so I spent hours designing and redesigning it. Getting all the little details right was tough.
Putting it all together
After weeks of work, I finally started to see something that resembled a watch. It wasn’t pretty, and it definitely wasn’t perfect, but it was starting to take shape. I used all kinds of household items for this project, including paper clips, aluminum foil, and plastic.
I assembled the parts and made adjustments as needed, there was also lots of sanding, gluing, and praying involved.
The Result
So, is it done? Not even close. Does it work like the real JLC Duomètre Sphérotourbillon? Absolutely not. But it’s my own little version of it, and I’m pretty proud of what I’ve managed to do so far. It’s been a fun, frustrating, and ultimately rewarding project. I’ll keep tinkering with it, and maybe one day I’ll have something that’s actually, you know, functional. But for now, it’s a cool little desk piece that reminds me that even the most complicated things can be broken down into smaller, manageable steps, even if those steps involve a whole lot of duct tape and wishful thinking.
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