My son, daughter, and I all thoroughly enjoyed our experience assembling our individualized Hampden watches. I was a bit nervous prior to the class, but they made us all very comfortable as soon as the class began. There was 1 instructor for every 2 students with a small overall class size, so we had excellent, close supervision throughout the class. We used professional, high-end equipment to assemble our watches and we both watched a live demonstration by the master instructor modeling the necessary techniques while referencing the notebook instructions provided. The presentation of the final assembly stage was very cool - see photo below. Engraved initials and date of assembly on the watches is a special feature to make each one of a kind. The class felt so welcoming with delicious, homemade food for breakfast and lunch. My family appreciated learning the history of the company as well as understanding the inner functioning of the watches we assembled. After enjoying a tasty whiskey pour, we left with a personalized watch, travel case, leather & stainless steel strap. All of us highly recommend and would do it again!

I’m a collector of watches and was excited when several years ago my son also got the bug. I saw this class and thought what an interesting father/son activity this could be.

I flew from FL to Detroit, and my son from MI and we met at the airport. In the cab we talked about our next day and had no idea what to really expect.

From the moment we walked through Hampden’s beautiful building, we knew this was going to be special, and Joe Wein, Marc and his crew did not disappoint!

As you sit around the room at your workstation with microscopes and tools surrounded by other enthusiastic students, I was a little nervous since I am not one who would be considered “handy”!

From the moment we began the Hampden team were patient, helpful and you knew you were in the presence of people who really loved what they did.

Step by step instruction with both live demonstrations and a book to follow made it easy throughout the day (except getting used to handling screws with tweezers that are literally microscopic) and even then there was always a helping hand making sure you didn’t get frustrated.

Did I mention the absolutely fantastic lunch that was served?

At the end, my son and I proudly wore our matching watches that will bond us forever, which made this experience………priceless.

I have been into watches for a year and a half. I have bracelets and straps down pat. But that’s it. I wanted to delve deeper: get into the movement, learn how watches work, familiarize myself with the parts and functions. I was too scared to do anything, even though I had a bunch of cheap, Chinese movements. When I learned about this class, I jumped at the opportunity and registered. I was so happy to be able to learn from professionals and even put together my own watch! That was a major plus.

I was really nervous the day of the class. I am notoriously clumsy. I always lose parts. I am also a bit socially inept. But the watch professionals were absolutely amazing. The class went on at a steady pace. We were told what to do, showed how to do it (along with plenty of tips and warnings about what we might encounter), and then did it ourselves. The watch professionals kept a close eye on what we were doing. They swept in to help when we needed, but not too much coddling.

In the course of the class, we disassembled a movement, then put it back. Then we started putting together the watch. I expressed these in just a few words, but this was a very involved process with detailed instructions. Fortunately, we had an instruction book with very clearly labeled pictures to show what we were to do and where to put parts or from where to pick them up. I enjoyed the anecdotes and hearing about the instructors’ experiences. Every single step was explained, including the technique.…

This watch workshop was simply awesome. A ton of fun and informative.

Joe Wein does a great job teaching the class and Marc is perfect in helping each participant with questions and problem solving along the way. Technical yet achievable for all.

I’m happy to travel to Chicago again for round two! Maybe even three. Dare I say four?!

Leaving with a watch that you build is a gratifying experience.

Sign up! Bring a few friends. You won’t regret it.

BF

Denver CO