#watch parts

Hello everyone! This is my latest work, a miniature factory created inside a watch case. Most of it has been built by using tiny watch parts. It is a factory which turns stone into gold. The stones are fed into the  machinery on the top right, to go through a process of complex transformation inside the factory and come out as gold in the bottom right. The bits of gold I used are actual 9K gold. Enjoy!

Hello everyone! This is a private commission I made, a miniature robot inventor’s workshop. It is made primarily from watch parts and contains a good deal of tiny objects, tools and details. I built it on a pocket watch case and closed it on top with a glass dome. Enjoy!

Also check my Etsy shop to see some of my other creations:

www.etsy.com/shop/MicroJewellery

A magical city sits on a floating cloud while traveling through the night sky. The scene has been created inside an antique silver pocket watch and the miniature city is made out of watch parts which have been turned into tiny buildings and houses. Enjoy!

You can find this together with my other creations at:

www.etsy.com/shop/MicroJewellery

My latest piece, a miniature factory which converts tiny pieces of stone into gold. All the machinery has been made with tiny watch parts and other metal bits and has been fitted inside a vintage watch case. Made to be worn as a pendant. Enjoy!

If you want to view more of my work don’t forget to visit my Etsy shop and website:

www.etsy.com/shop/MicroJewellery

www.gregorygrozos.com

Hello everyone! Here’s my latest miniature world, a miniature apothecary made inside a tiny Victorian era pocket watch case. It was a lot of fun creating all the fine details, such as all the bottles, jars and containers of varying sizes and materials. The pocket watch is made of pure silver and adorned by a beautiful design while the front has been closed with a watch crystal. Enjoy!

You can find this, as well as my other creations, at my online shop:

www.etsy.com/shop/MicroJewellery

Here’s another of my miniature worlds! A tiny man and woman are sitting side by side on a branch of a blooming tree while watching the night sky. It is made in an old watch case and closed with a watch crystal on the front.

Also check my Etsy page:

www.etsy.com/shop/MicroJewellery

My latest creation, an ultra-tiny robot inventor’s workshop made inside a watch case. The inner diameter of the watch case measures 1.6cm or 0.6’’. All the tiny robots have been made by assembling many tiny watch parts. The inventor is holding tools while working on one of the robot’s inside. Fitted with a chain and closed with a piece of glass on the front, it has been made as a wearable necklace. Enjoy!

Available at my online shop:

www.etsy.com/shop/MicroJewellery

A rocket traveling through space, passing by stars, planets, comets and other celestial bodies. The rocket is made with watch parts and resin has been used as a medium to create the space. I am quite satisfied with the result. Enjoy!

Available at:
www.etsy.com/shop/MicroJewellery

This one was fun to build. It is an ultra-tiny robot workshop with a man hard at work building and repairing robots. It is made almost exclusively from tiny watch parts. Some of the features, such as the tools on the table, are a little hard to discern. I took most of the pictures without the glass but the final piece is closed with a piece of glass on the front. Enjoy!

Available at my Etsy shop:

www.etsy.com/shop/MicroJewellery

A set of ultra tiny tools to be used in a miniature scene I am making, made entirely from small watch parts. The ruler is in centimeters.

I have a small collection of these beautiful old bronze buttons and they are great for building scenes upon. All the tiny buildings and many of the other details in the scene have been made by assembling and painting tiny watch parts. I don’t know if they are all visible in the pictures, but there are many tiny details surrounding the town, like a bridge, a pavilion, a well, a watermill and more. The entire scene has been built on a very small area, about less than 2cm or 4/5 of an inch.

View more of my work by visiting my Facebook or Etsy page:

www.facebook.com/microjewellery
www.etsy.com/shop/MicroJewellery

I’ve been waiting to make these for a long time.  Finally had all the ingredients and a bit of bravery.  What many people don’t realise is making something new is always a risk, possibly ruining expensive supplies.  Fortunately these turned out well.   A simple glass locket filled with a vintage pocket watch spring, tiny metallic “planet” spheres, a half round golden “sun” all fixed in place with clear resin. It makes for a subtle yet intriguing piece of jewelry.  Understated.

The tiny ones are seriously small - the lockets are under an inch wide.  I’ve attempted some reality to the planets: Mercury is tiny and silver, Venus earth’s sister planet is gold and the same size as Earth, Earth is silver, Mars smaller than Earth and copper. The giants start with Jupiter large in copper, Saturn slightly smaller than Jupiter and silver tone, Uranus is gold, Neptune is smaller and silver and finally, Pluto, tiny and metallic black.  I can’t keep any accuracy in relation to the size of the sun - it’s seriously huge in comparison.   

The larger one, just over an inch wide, was gold but arrived very scratched.  Instead of it sitting in my pile of rejects I decided to “distress” the patina to a brushed copper with the original gold poking through in places.  It works.  It also has a very light dusting of holographic glitter as a star field.  

If there is the demand I thought about customising these.  With a birth date, time and place I can generate a natal sun chart - where the planets were at the time of their birth. If there is serious clumping I might have to take some artistic license when positioning all the planets. It would require a 2 week build time for supplies and for the resin layers to cure.  

If you are looking for a masculine gift I can put them on a black rubber or leather cord.  

Photonic Angel

I’ve had another go at these resin heads - this time ramping up the complexity and symmetry.  On top of my original inspiration, the movies Ex Machina and the Fritz Lang masterpiece, Metropolis, I’ve been watching a ton of science documentaries on youtube. Photonic computing is equal parts of terrifying (possibly undermining e-commerce security and privacy) and exciting with life changing possibilities.  It could grant us immortality - digital immortality with our consciousness being uploaded.

Resin is never simple to work with.  Lots of trial and error, testing different resins, a pile of rejects.  Every pour runs the risk of not setting if I botch the ratio. The parts are placed and fixed layer by layer with a 16 to 24 hour drying time between each pour.  With 5 layers the “brain” has depth and complexity.  Due to the convex curve of the forehead there is some distortion/refraction when viewed from the front.  I didn’t use any trick lighting in photos - the shape and material tends to capture light in unusual ways.  There are some occasional air bubbles - something I’ve got to learn to live with when working with resin without spending a fortune of a vacuum chamber.  I’ve bought a lot of watch parts over the past 10 years to create a complex “brain”.  Many are NOS - new old stock - parts never used - perfect for the pristine look I’m going for.

Due to the original being a clay model. the mold produced a frosted appearance and texture even using crystal clear resin.  Each face must go through levels of sanding and polishing.  It takes a long time and a lot of elbow grease to get a glass like polish.  I like to keep the frosted texture around the eyes, nose and mouth.  Her features would just disappear without it.  Her eyes are half spheres attached with UV resin.

After five or six days it’s always exciting to see how she looks coming out of the mold.  Once I’ve finished polishing I start working on her exterior features.  For this piece I’ve combined electrical glass fuses on either side of her head, two half drilled bead posts as antenna and laser cut arc slice attached with screws on the back of the head.  There are two three hole bars also screwed into the head for hanging holes.  Two hanging points mean the pendant won’t flip around.  

The head is 2 inches high, 1.5 inches wide and 0.75 deep. It is designed to be worn mid length on the chest but I’m happy to change the length or put it on a cord for a masculine piece.  The chain is silver tone ball link with larger ball stations.  I’ve ended each chain length (10 inches each - so a total 20 inch chain) with finished cord caps.  If you would like to wear it higher or lower - I’m happy to alter the chain to any length you want.

The Metropolis - Capital City.

I see a lot of watch innards in my work. Using a disassembled movement, the “skeleton” of any watch, as the basis for a tiny city has been rolling around in my head for a long time. Most of the holes for the “buildings” are already there. I sometimes need to pop the “jewels” out, usually low grade rubies, so all the holes are available. Many of the “buildings” are seriously tiny, sub 1 mm wide and a few millimetres high. They can also be very sharp. My first attempt wasn’t great as I couldn’t get the “buildings” straight and parallel. Take two using putty hardened before installing all the “buildings”. Third time’s the charm. A little futuristic city with a range of buildings, tiny details and a central “lake” using clear resin. You can’t really see it in the photos.

Here is the dilemma I faced:

It needed to be photographed without the glass so you can see the details, texture and how light plays off it at different angles. It is designed to be a pendant on a chain but for that use I have to stick down the glass dome permanently. If you want it as a piece of art, sculpture, desk ornament, assemblage - I can leave the glass unattached. If there was a way I could do both I would but I can’t see any way to do that using my current skills, supplies and equipment. If it’s displayed on a shelf close to eye level it would be great to keep the glass on to avoid dust but also be able to take the glass off to see all the minute detail. It will also get a lot of attention as a unique jewellery piece on a long chain.

So I leave that option to you - just let me know. It will be the same price for either option.

Components:

• Silver tone tubing - polished
• Two part putty
• Vintage silver tone watch movement
• Assorted watch stems
• Assorted watch bar springs
• Assorted winders
• Assorted balance staffs
• Earring posts
• Pins
• Electronic probes
• Clear resin
• Assorted tubing
• Miscellaneous parts
• Assorted crimps/beads
• Pinions
• Glass dome
• Brass disk
• Brass setting tray
• Eye up loop

Build time: 7 hours

Under the glass dome the pendant is just under 2 inches (4.5cm) high and 1 inch (2.4cm) wide. The chain would be brass gold tone rollo link at the length you would like to wear it at with a lobster claw clasp.

Thanks for looking!

I ordered some amazing brass stamps over Christmas and here is one put to use in the latest mechabug.  Watch parts feature heavily in this guy with layers of parts on his face, head and along his top “backbone”.  His “legs” are repurposed lever action earrings - cut and adapted for this use, with watch winder stems at the end.  Flat semicircle brass stamps form the main skeleton all threaded on a brass rod with sleeves and springs between them.  Threading the gears and minute pinions on the “top” backbone was very tricky - a lot of swearing at inanimate objects.  

He is 2 inches long, 1.5 inches wide and stands 1 inch high.  He’s designed to just sit on your desk or shelf, keep you company and impress guests. He has a hanging loop so it would look like he’s walking down your wall.

When I was researching anatomical bugs for this project I accidentally found myself looking at the Russian spy cockroach - very interesting. So here is the steampunk version.  Love to see him come to life…

I’ve been drawing on two inspirations - the movies Ex Machina and the Fritz Lang masterpiece Metropolis. Both have amazing android/robots in lead parts.  I was disappointed with the LED embedded head experiment but this direction may change that.  These pieces don’t have the LED light just layers of resin with watch parts embedded.  The silver head is  symmetrical - the gold just random parts.  The “eyes” are gold tone pin heads.  I’ve used mixture of jewellery findings.

I wanted it to look like the heads are “crowned” - with slight religiosity mixed with technology and biomechanics. They are designed to be worn mid length on the chest but I’m happy to change the length or put it on a cord for a masculine piece.  

So I’ll start working on the other resin heads to see where this tangent leads me….

Light Spider

This has been a long time in the making.  The parts have literally been sitting on my work desk all year.  First problem was creating the abdomen from two perforated domes - something that could be opened and closed.  So I found a tiny little hinge and fashioned a swing hook latch.  Next major problem was the legs. Another artist who I admire greatly solders watch winding stems for insect legs.  I wanted to use the same materials but I don’t copy.  So I used sleeves, cord end tubes with loops, tiny rubber rings and brass rods. They are screwed to a brass ring.  I did want a lot more detail in the cephalothorax but decided to go simple with a stepped brass finding with brass rings attached underneath for the central screw.  It’s more wild wild west than a real representation of a spider.

The glow is from the innards of a LED “fairy globe” sold on one of the big wholesale sites for party decoration.  I took it out of the plastic ball and put it in the spider’s abdomen. The light pulses slowly on and off.  Batteries can easily be replaced.  It doesn’t have a switch so I just break the circuit with a toothpick between the battery and terminal to turn it off.  

It’s 3 inches wide, 2 ½ inches long and 1 ½ inches high.  

Thanks to all my followers - I really appreciate all of you. I hope you have a wonderful New Year and fantastic 2019!

These are just a proof of concept.  I wanted to include light in my resin heads to highlight layers of mechanical parts.  I was partly inspired by the movies Ex Machina and the classic Metropolis.  Trying to find an LED small enough was the first problem - the second problem was making the batteries accessible so they could be changed.  A few years ago I found LED earrings - the LED is on the pad and the batteries are in the back.  They switch on by inserting the post into the back.  

These heads all have five layers of mechanical watch parts suspended in resin.  It’s a very slow process with each layer needing to cure 24 hours before the next one can be poured.  Some of the pieces have symmetrical parts - others are just random parts. The LEDs were set in the last pour leaving the post exposed so it could be inserted into the battery pack.

There are other problems that I still have to address - the original head mold has been taken from a clay form.  It has left a rough texture on the head that looks like it’s been scratched all over.  I’m happy that the face comes out “frosted” but I have to polish the forehead so the mechanics can be seen.  Resin is very soft - so the polishing has to be manual and it takes a long time.  Even after hours of polishing it still looks like the piece has been scratched in close up photos.  It’s barely noticeable in real life.  I’ve come to the realisation that the texture must be sanded down before polishing.  It may be a good idea to use a polished form to make my own mold.  

They don’t photograph well and the light complicates it. The magnification and refraction of the internal parts is frustrating.  I spend a lot of time positioning each piece for symmetry but it looks like a mess in the photos.  If I can’t take great photos - they can’t be sold online. But it’s early days in this artistic tangent.  I initially bought the molds to make a head for a static miniature reproduction of a Hugo like automata. Unfortunately they are too big for that purpose. 

Silver wing heart - my latest winged mechanical heart with gears, gauges and glow in the dark grill.  Lots of tiny details.  Can be worn as a pendant, unique fob or just displayed.  I can create a display box if required.  

Available in my Etsy shop

Tritium Powered Assassin Bug

No, not really “powered” by tritium but that would be fantastic.  It’s just a fantasy mechanical winged insect with a tritium rod in the abdomen.It’s hanging from a stick pin so it can attached to clothing.  The legs are vintage watch stems attached to brass rods.  Nearly every connection is nuts and bolts - tiny nuts and bolts.  The centre piece is brass with a square top screw securing the glass vial to the body and head.It’s estimated the green tritium will glow continuously for 10 to 12 years.  It doesn’t need “charging” from a light source like regular glow in the dark.  

It’s 1 ½ inches long, just over 1 inch wide and stands ½ an inch high.  It’s US$185 shipping included.  If you are interested in buying it - drop me a line with your paypal email address and I’ll invoice you.  

Steampunk clockwork “brain” pendant necklace.   Mech head 1, 2 and 3.

These look really simple but like anything with resin - it wasn’t simple. Lots of trial and error, testing different resins, a pile of rejects but I really like the final piece. The face has a zen quality to me - it reminds me of the automata dolls from the 19th century or the robot in Metropolis. The brain being represented as a clock work mechanism is an old trope but I really wanted to attempt it using epoxy resin. It’s opened up a thousand ideas that I’ll be exploring more.

There was a “happy accident” early on. Due to the original being a clay model. the mold produced a frosted appearance and texture even using crystal clear resin - that was great, I love the frosted look, but how to reveal the gears and mechanics - that took awhile to work out. The gears are laid layer by layer with a 16 to 24 hour drying time between each pour. With 5 layers the gear and cog “brain” has depth and complexity. 

Due to the curve of the forehead there is some distortion/refraction when viewed from the front. As you can see in the photos, when viewed from the back the gears don’t distort. I didn’t use any trick lighting in photos - the shape tends to capture light. There is the occasional air bubble - something I’ve got to learn to live with when working with resin without spending a fortune of a vacuum chamber. 

The gears are all vintage or antique from an array of watches and pocket watches. The head is 1.5 inches high, 1.1 inches wide and 0.5 deep. I’ve put it on a really long necklace, Gatsby length - 38 inches long. Due to the length I haven’t included a clasp as it’s not really needed. The chain is black with faceted cut brass cable link - it really sparkles as it moves. If you would like to wear it higher - I’m happy to alter the chain to any length you want. I can also put it on a different chain or cord.

Mercury Drone

There is a local art competition coming up in August and I have an idea - three or four “flying” insects mounted on posts mid flight and presented in a diorama under a glass dome. The insects will all be straight out of my imagination and the grass and flowers will also be biomech steampunk. So I’m working on my insects at the moment. The legs and head are the sticking points. I want the legs to look like pistons or micro hydraulics - but they get too big so I’m starting from wire/pins and work from there. Fortunately I’m never short on ideas to attempt.

The main feature on this guy are the great silver tone mechanical clock parts I’ve used as over wings. I wanted a lot more mech on his thorax but there are tiny details in there. He comes with his very own glass and brass display case with a mirrored base to see “under the hood”. He would be a great low maintenance pet for the office desk or a quirky ornament that will catch everyone by surprise. The drop of mercury in his abdomen does move around the sealed glass nodule.

I like to imagine him as a drone used in spycraft espionage sending back images of the secret base, blueprints or a compromised official. He could also take a nefarious payload or just plug himself in to an unattended server port causing havoc.  

So if you like my insect creations keep an eye on my new items as I lead up to the main competition piece. I also had the idea of replicating the framed specimen insect collections that the Victorian era loved so much. Join me for the journey!