Worn & Wound
The $2,100 Question: Hampden’s First Hand Watchmaking Workshop
I was recently invited by the Hampden Watch Company to participate in their First Hand Watchmaking Workshop and experience what it’s like to build my own watch from the ground up. I first happened upon the program through an Instagram advertisement at the beginning of 2026, only a couple of months after its December 2025 launch. Upon my initial review of the program’s website and details at that time, my only gripe was the cost of the workshop itself (a topic we will revisit later), especially as an enthusiast who bases his collecting solely on the affordable vintage sphere. When Hampden reached out to me, I became eager to see how my area of watch collecting would intersect with a different sphere of the hobby; in essence, how my ultra-budget-conscious perspective on watch collecting would intertwine or potentially clash with that of a more luxury oriented experience. Additionally, having personally performed minor maintenance and repairs on watches without professional equipment or knowledge of how to fully disassemble or reassemble a movement, I was curious to see what type of experience I would gain and potentially implement in my daily watch life through participating in the workshop. The day starts at 9:30 AM in Hampden’s headquarters located in a rather quiet area within the West Loop of Chicago. The well-preserved architecture of the building’s interior is a remarkable demonstration of how to properly preserve old industrial spaces from a period gone by–...
