Some time ago, I decided to create a 3D model of a watch design that I sketched for Sketchwars. After many hours of
using Solidworks and Keyshot, it’s finally finished. This has been a great experience. I now feel more comfortable using
Solidworks, and I love seeing what Keyshot is capable of. If I have time, I may create more watches in the near future.

In August 2016, I sketched a Cartier skeleton watch for the FB group, Sketchwars. I love skeleton watches and
felt that the Cartier ones looked the best. I’m drawn to Cartier’s mechanical, modern aesthetic and the great materials and details.

Before getting into 3D modeling, I mapped the watch design in Adobe Illustrator.
I wanted to make sure the proportions were realistic, so I sketched the design over an existing watch.

With the proportions mapped, I was able to make a master model of the watch body.

While making the master model, I was trying to figure out the ends of the watch. I constructed this area by intersecting two forms.

To check my 3D modeling, I rendered the master model in Keyshot. After adding the chrome shader, I saw that I needed to blend the intersecting surfaces.

With the band modeled, I decided to go back and fix the intersecting surfaces.
I used the Solidworks diagnostic feature to make sure that the surfaces are tangent.

With the watch bracelet modeled, I was trying to figure out how the clasp would work.
I looked at other Cartier watches and they featured a two buckle symmetrical clasp.

The two buckle clasp was a good way to resolve the watch bracelet in a clean manner.
With the body and bracelet resolved, the focus will be on resolving details.

When I created the initial design sketch, I looked up some basic Cartier skeleton watch designs and photoshopped mechanisms into the sketch.
As I was modeling the mechanism in Solidworks, I needed a more solid reference. The movement that seemed appropriate
for my design was the “Caliber 9612 MC” used in certain skeleton watch models.

Using Illustrator, I was able to map out general dimensions for the movement. This guide was very helpful for modeling in Solidworks.

At this phase, everything is in place. Before the final Keyshot renderings, I want to hone in the final details.
I was pretty dissatisfied with the current crown. I decided to explore some variations.

I looked at some Cartier crowns and sketched a few ideas.
I wanted to see which shape would best compliment the rest of the watch.

I modeled a few ideas and was a little undecided on which one I liked the best.
There are some options that I liked over others, but I wanted to get an idea of which one people liked.
I decided to post these options on social media to see which one would be most popular.

After deciding which crown looked the best, I tweaked a few details before the final Keyshot renderings. There was a lot of tweaking with the brushed metal
shaders to get the desired effect that I wanted. The radial shaders for the gears aren’t perfect, but I’m very satisfied with the final renderings.
Overall, this has been a great experience and I may try more experiments with Solidworks and Keyshot.