Today, I wanted to make you aware of a cool do-it-yourself watch project – and brand – that my lovely wife ran across. We’ll be working on putting one of these together with our kids – so be on the look out for a full hands-on review. In the meantime, I thought there are folks out there that might be on the hunt for gifts at the ends of the year, and something like this TogetherMade Camp Watch may just fit the bill.
Now, to clarify – the TogetherMade Camp Watch is indeed a DIY project, but you’re not building the watch itself. That is taken care of by the Timex Weekender (40mm) in the kit. I won’t go too much into the watch at this point (we’ll save that for the full review), but you can see what we’ve said about the Weekender right here. Suffice to say, it’s a solid quartz watch that gets the job done, and there’s no denying the Indiglo backlight.
Now, on to the kit. Well, actually, what about the brand, TogetherMade? This company calls Washington (the state) home, and they’ve got a variety of handicraft kits that definitely have the look and feel of something you might have built in shop class, or perhaps even when at summer camp. Not only that, they’re committed to getting their kits into the hands of less-fortunate children as well, so every sale puts a kit into the hands of another child. So, you get to build something cool, and you get to help someone else make something cool. Win-win!
Looking at the photos of the TogetherMade Camp Watch, this calls to mind all of those wonderful things you’d see in the Tandy Leatherworking shop back in the day. You’ve got precut leather and leather, you know, all the goodies to make something that looks handmade and solid. In terms of difficulty, the various projects are going to have different times, but this watch project is estimated to be from 1.5 – 4 hours. I suppose it depends on how crafty you and your helpers are. We’ll do our best to document this as we build it with our children.
If you want to pick one up yourself, you can order the TogetherMade Camp Watch for $75. Sure, a bit of a premium over your standard Timex Weekender, but you are making something that is unique, and you’ve got the experience that comes from building something like this together. There are also other projects from the brand (a bracelet, cribbage board, or wallet, among other options), so you’ve got a nice bit of choice from a company that looks to be going about their business in a helping way. Color me a fan! And again, we’ll be building one of these TogetherMade Camp Watch, so be on the lookout for that review. togethermade.com
Watch Overview
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Brand & Model: TogetherMade Camp Watch
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Price: $75
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Who we think it might be for: You have a crafty kid who’s getting into watches, and you want a project to build together
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Would I buy one for myself based on what I’ve seen? Yes, this looks like fun, and certainly brings to mind some of those handicraft projects of my youth
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If I could make one design suggestion, it would be: Perhaps consider offering a watch-less version, as many watch folks may just want to build the custom strap and put their own watch on
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What spoke to me the most about this watch: The idea it ensconces of camp crafts, along with the working together aspect
