DIY Watch Club brought live watchmaking workshops to Windup Watch Fair San Francisco 2026, giving attendees at Fort Mason’s Gateway Pavilion the chance to assemble a mechanical watch with their own hands.
Small tools and real watchmaking at Fort Mason
Led by DIY Watch Club founder Quinn Lai and Rebecca Lai, the sessions walked participants through the essential steps of building a functioning mechanical watch, from casing the movement to setting the hands and completing final assembly.
A white dial GMT built by its owner
Each attendee assembled DIY Watch Club’s White Dial Stainless Steel GMT, a practical travel watch that made the workshop feel less like a novelty and more like a genuine introduction to the mechanics behind everyday collecting.
Making mechanical watches less intimidating
The workshop tables quickly became one of the fair’s most engaging stops, drawing experienced collectors curious about the technical side of their watches as well as newcomers who wanted a more tangible way into the hobby.
A natural fit for the Windup crowd
Windup has long leaned into accessible, community-driven enthusiasm, and a bench-style workshop added a different kind of interaction by turning spectators into makers for a couple of hours.
By the end of the weekend, dozens of attendees left with a wearable mechanical GMT they had assembled themselves, which is exactly the kind of personal connection that can make a watch feel memorable before it ever reaches the wrist.
