Laois Watch Builds was born out of a simple curiosity that turned into a full-blown passion. I’ve always admired the aesthetic of well-designed watches—how they look, how they sit on the wrist, and the personality that they add. But for the longest time, that’s where it stopped—that was until 2022.

That year, I found myself with two watches from the South African Mint, still pristine in their display boxes, that had just suddenly stopped working. Rather than toss them aside or send them out for repair, I thought to myself, why not open them up and fix them? I had absolutely no background in watchmaking—in fact, at the time I didn’t even know the difference between a quartz and a mechanical watch movement. In my mind, a watch was a watch, and the better it looked, the more I liked it.

So I dove headfirst into the world of horology—researching, watching tutorials on the Internet, and slowly investing in some starter tools. When I opened those first two watches and discovered they were quartz movements, so firstly I replaced the batteries… and they worked! That tiny victory lit a fire in me.

Next, I tried to build a watch from a DIY kit that I bought. It was a disaster. Misaligned hands, frustratingly delicate components—I almost gave up. But I didn’t. I kept going, learned through trial and error, and finally I built my first proper Seiko homage. When friends and strangers started complimenting it—and even asking to buy it—I knew I was on to something special.