Six hours. Six guests. One Swiss mechanical watch you build yourself.

My wife found Hampden online as I'm a watchmaking novice and wanted to up my skills a bit. This class takes you through the basics of how a mechanical watch movement functions and how to disassemble, reassemble, case, apply hands, and otherwise assemble a watch.

Having put together a few watches from parts, some of it was familiar, but I definitely gained a lot of confidence from hands-on assembling the movement in an environment where there was always someone there to catch any mistakes before they became bigger problems.

The team was fantastic, the hospitality was great (my wife didn't attend but she was treated like a client and taken care of throughout her short time there). Lunch was wonderful, and I can't recommend the class highly enough.

Understandably, the class is not "cheap," but you're getting a full 8-hour class with assistance from an entire team dedicated to your success, and you walk out with skills and confidence along with a fantastic mechanical watch that is a true 1 of 1. I really can't say enough good things about Hampden's team and class.

If you're a watch enthusiast or just someone who likes to learn how to take something apart and put it back together and you're able to attend, you should! Thank you so much to Joe and Marc and the rest of the Hampden crew for a wonderful memory that will stick with me as long as my watch does!

The folks at Hampden Watch have clearly invested tons of time, effort, and passion on a one-day workshop that not only allows students to learn some watchmaking history and disassemble/assemble/case/test a Swiss mechanical movement with professional-grade tools, but also to wear said watch (your choice of watch face/strap colors with custom engraving visible through the exhibition case back) out the door at the end of the course. I had a great experience with my 5 fellow students and 3 instructors (Marc, Gian, and Oscar). As an instructor/educator myself, I appreciated their ability to teach, give autonomy for each student to work at their own pace, while still keeping the flow smooth and providing oversight/assistance individually as needed. Highly recommended! I would go back for an intermediate course once they develop/offer it.

This was touted as a 1 day course in watchmaking, no experience or knowledge of watches required. And in the end, you get a watch, that you've put together, to take home. I was a little apprehensive at first as I knew nothing about the inner workings of a watch. But in short time, the instructors, Joe and Marc, who are amazing, put me at ease, and the course that they've put together, is truly approachable for the novice. That being said, the experience of taking apart a watch and putting it back together, would be worthwhile even for someone which knowledge of watches. I love the comradery that the atmosphere lended itself to. The lunch that they provided was better than most restaurants (and I'd like to think that I'm a foodie). And the watch that I had put together, which included a personalized, initialized gear, is a watch that I'd be proud to wear. Overall, an amazing experience. I hope they do a more advanced course. Will definitely take again.

If you are a watch enthusiast, this is the class to be. You not only build a watch but also take it home with you. The instructors are super nice and helped all along. There is so much to learn and I hope they have a follow up class. Shout-out to Joe, Marc, Gian and Oscar for a wonderful put together class.

I found myself in a beautiful loft-style warehouse workshop in Chicago, clean, exciting, and filled with state-of-the-art watchmaking tools. Within minutes, four watchmakers had introduced themselves and begun teaching us the fundamentals of mechanical watchmaking.

Most of the six participants in my group knew a fair amount about mechanical watches. Some had extensive collections, but, like me, didn't have much successful hands-on experience actually building one. That's where this workshop really shines. It meets you wherever you are and takes you through the process from the ground up.

Over the course of the day, we disassembled and rebuilt a Swiss manual-wind, 17 jeweled, 6498 movement, then turned it into a complete 42mm Hampden First Edition watch. At every point along the way, the instructions were clear and easy to follow, presented both on a large screen and individual synchronized iPads. And whenever someone hit a snag, a professional watchmaker in a lab coat appeared and provided just the right amount of help to get you over the hump without taking over the work.

All of the watchmakers were patient, knowledgeable, skilled, and genuinely enthusiastic about what they were teaching. By the end of the day, all six of us were enormously proud of what we'd accomplished and strutted out convinced that each of us was wearing the most beautiful watch on the planet.

The experience goes well beyond the mechanics of building a watch. Hampden has a fascinating history in…