Shlomo Mockin is aptly labelled Shlomo der Zaygermacher by friends and family because he’s been repairing watches and creating watch parts for the past four years and, incidentally, Zaygermacher means ‘watchmaker’. During that time, Mockin learned about the various aspects of watchmaking and finally decided to go into designing his own. What makes the watches created by Mockin’s company, Zayger, unique are that they blend traditional watchmaking techniques with modern technology.
On the Kickstarter campaign page for Zayger watches, there are a variety of leather bound watches made from alligator/crocodile, ostrich, python, lamb, lizard, and shark skin dyed in colors ranging from purple to black to yellow to pink with case materials in antique bronze, gold plated steel, polished silver and polished gold colors.
Mockin has yet to obtain his own 3D printer and, so, uses Shapeways to create the cases, crowns, and buckles of his watches, printing them in gold and silver-plated steel. He says that, in regards to the movements – the gears and such – inside of the watch, the resolution on 3D printing is not high enough to provide the needed accuracy, though, in his next watch line, he will be using high resolution plastics to affix to Swiss-made watch movements. Consequently, the rest of the parts are either made by hand or through the use of laser cutting.
Shlomo believes that 3D printing has given him a lot more freedom in watch design:
3D printing is an amazing and affordable new way to take an idea from the prototype stage all the way to manufacturing and mass production. Its accuracy has recently gotten to the point that it can be used to make watch parts that require accuracy to points of a millimeter. It is also a great match for watchmaking, because in usage of 3D printing one only pays for the amount of material you use. In other words, complexity is free, giving it some major advantages over traditional manufacturing. The prototyping price is the same as the production price, and watches can be made with unlimited design complexity without driving up the price.
For more information or to order one of his watches, visit his Kickstarter page here.
