Summary
This Victorian cyberpunk pocketwatch comes with a custom sci‑fi UI and a 466×466 AMOLED on an ESP32S.
It uses a 3D‑printed stainless steel case—designed in Fusion360, with a future hand‑forged metal remake planned.
Packed features: six‑axis IMU, RTC, mic, speaker, microSD, and Arduino‑based open source smart‑watch UI.
I think one of the coolest elements of the DIY community is how determined they are to make something from fiction come to life. Does the main character in a movie use a cool device? You can make that cool device. Always wanted your own Pip-Boy from Fallout? Well, you’re in luck; people have taken several tries at recreating the post-apocalyptic hardware in the modern era.
So when I caught wind that someone had taken a sci-fi pocket watch inspired by The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson, I knew I had to give it a shout-out. Because there’s only one thing better than bringing fiction to life, and that’s bringing it to life and making it look awesome at the same time.
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This amazing pocket watch looks like something out of a Victorian cyberpunk world
And I want one dearly
This amazing project was the idea of Math Campbell, who posted their project on the Arduino subreddit and got in touch with Hackaday about the project. We could just jump right into the tech specs of this beauty, but I do urge you to check out the pictures above and see it for yourself. It really does look stunning.
Once you’re done soaking it in, here’s how Math describes this project:
I’ve always wanted a sci-fi style pocketwatch (ever since I read The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson)
None exist aside from a few people cramming a smartwatch into an antique case.
So I got a development board from waveshare that has a screen and motherboard (esp32s3 with a 466×466 amoled screen), and programmed a UI that looks suitably sci-fi for my gaudy tastes.
Then added a battery and designed this case in Fusion360 and had it 3d printed in stainless steel.
Yes, you read that right: 3D printed in stainless steel. Math didn’t have the hardware to do that at home, so they had to send the Fusion3D files to a specialist. However, Math is a silversmith, so they’re planning to actually recreate this with a more expensive metal later down the line. Just when you thought it couldn’t get cooler.
If you fancy making one for yourself (and I really don’t blame you), head over to the Smart Watch v5 GitHub page for all the source. Hackaday notes that the pocket watch comes with “a six-axis IMU, an RTC, microphone, speaker, and micro SD card reader,” meaning it has the potential to be a real Swiss army knife of features if you get everything working properly.