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First Hand Watchmaking Workshop
Build Your Own Swiss Mechanical Watch in One Day
Full day, small-group workshop at Hampden HQ in Chicago. No experience required. Leave wearing the watch you built.
West Loop, Chicago • 6 hours • $2,100
"BEST WATCH CLASSES IN AMERICA"
"You Leave Wearing The Swiss Watch You Built With Your Own Hands"
"Tick, Tick, Boom! Students Flock to Hampden’s Watchmaking Workshop"
"Country's Oldest Watch Company Committed to Chicago"
The First Hand Experience: What You'll Leave With
A Swiss Mechanical Watch You Built
You’ll assemble and regulate a Swiss mechanical movement under magnification, guided step-by-step at the bench. You’ll understand it because you built it, and you’ll wear it because it’s yours.
Real Instruction in a Small Room
Each full-day class is capped at six guests with a 2:1 instruction ratio, so you’re never stuck or left behind. It’s beginner-friendly, hands-on guidance the whole day, not a group demo. And we'll service you a delicious lunch with a private tour of our corporate watch collection.
An Engraving That Marks the Moment
Before you leave, we’ll engrave your movement with your initials and the year to make the day permanent. That’s when it shifts from “a watch” to your story.
Leave With the Watch You Built
You’ll walk out wearing the watch you built, finished and ready for real life. And every time you glance at it, you’ll remember the bench, the tools, and the moment it came to life.
Reserve your seat with a 25% deposit here.
Balance due 30 days prior.
Join First Hand, Hampden’s best-selling watchmaking workshop in Chicago, hosted at our historic West Loop headquarters.
Developed by third-generation CEO Joseph Wein, you’ll explore the mechanics of a Swiss Made 6498 movement — learning to disassemble, rebuild, and regulate it yourself. After a chef-catered lunch, you’ll add the dial and hands, case your watch, and take home our 42mm First Edition mechanical timepiece engraved with your initials.
Eight workshop-exclusive dials, each named for Chicago. You choose yours at the bench and build it by hand.
Built, never bought.
Before You Book
Absolutely not. First Hand is designed for beginners. About 90% of our guests have never sat at a watchmaking bench before. We teach you step-by-step with a 2:1 instructor-to-student ratio, so you’re guided closely the entire time.
You’ll build a Hampden Model 1 in a 42mm case around a Swiss manual-wind 6498 movement, then leave wearing the finished watch. This isn’t a demo. It’s a real build, guided by Hampden’s watchmaking team, designed to become an heirloom you’ll actually wear.
Yes. The First Hand workshop centers on the 42mm First Edition. During the experience, you'll choose from eight workshop-exclusive dials, each named for Chicago's materials and landmarks. We engrave your initials on the movement, and the sapphire exhibition back lets you revisit the moment every time you look down.
Plan for a full day. We start at 9:00 AM and typically wrap around 4:00 PM. Lunch is included, along with a break for a private gallery tour of Hampden’s vintage watches.
Your seat includes:
- A full guided watchmaking workshop at Hampden HQ
- Your Swiss mechanical watch (the one you build)
- Breakfast, lunch, and refreshments
- All tools, materials, and instruction throughout the day
- A private tour of Hampden's corporate watch collection, featuring 150 years of watchmaking history
First Hand takes place at Hampden Watch HQ in Chicago at 1550 W Carroll Ave, on the edge of Fulton Market. Free parking is provided, and you’ll receive simple arrival instructions after booking.
Each session has only six seats and most sell out, so we keep this simple and fair:
- Seats are non-refundable but fully transferable. Send someone in your place any time, at no charge. This is the simplest option and keeps your full value, so we recommend it first.
- 14 or more days out: we’ll reschedule you once to any open session, no charge.
- Inside 14 days: if you can’t attend or transfer your seat, your payment converts to HampdenWatch.com credit at 50% toward a future session or watch.
- No-shows forfeit the seat. We may extend credit for a genuine emergency, at our discretion.