About Ghost Watch & Tool

Ghost Watch & Tool aims to build good looking, quality mechanical tool watches in the hands of my kind of people. They should be simple and reliable for guys out doing stuff in the world, while still being versatile enough to be worn in the field or around town.

At this time, I'm hand-building Seiko watches to build out the business while I try to source out parts for Swiss watches. I'm working to get costs down, but until I can build up some more capital and scale, the watches are going to be a little more expensive than I'd like.

The story

In February of 2007, I deployed to Iraq as a PSYOP Specialist. I bought the first watch I can remember in the PX there, a $25 analog field watch. I would later pick up a Casio Pathfinder on that deployment, but the field watch has long had a special place in my heart.

The only picture I still have of that watch, trying to capture the time when we were hit by an IED.

I'm wearing a Casio Pathfinder in this photo of my interpreter and I having fun with AKs.

Fast forward a decade and a half later, and several Timex Expedition quartz watches, attempts at using an Apple Watch, and a Garmin Instinct, and I bought my first nice watch: a Shinola Runwell. It was still a quartz watch, but the process of buying got me to start looking at mechanical watches. I picked up a pair of Praesidium A11 replicas.

During this same time, I'd gotten into tech. While the work has been enjoyable at times, staring at a computer screen isn't how I'd like to spend my time anymore. I bought a tool kit and some early kits, starting with a Miyota (Citizen) pilot watch and a Seiko NH34 GMT watch.

The first two watches I ever made. I sent the aviator watch to my dad as a birthday/anniversary present, and the dive watch to a friend. Note that I hadn't really started figuring out how to photograph watches.

I experimented with making Swiss watches next courtesy of a watch parts and repair store near me.

The first two Swiss mechanical watches I built.

At this point, I've not been able to source parts for the Swiss watches that I am happy with, so I've started building Seiko watches. At the end of the day, while I might not be able to provide Swiss-quality watches, I am still trying to put affordable watches into the hands of good people.