About the workshop
A workshop built on
considered practice
Dialcraft is a watch repair workshop in Bang Khen, Nonthaburi. We work on three services and we work on each of them properly.
Back to HomeOur story
How Dialcraft began
Dialcraft started in the back room of a small unit on Ngamwongwan Road in the early 2010s. The founder, Nathakorn Pramoj, had spent several years working for a larger repair chain in central Bangkok before deciding that the pace and throughput of that environment did not suit the kind of work he wanted to do. He set up on his own with a modest tool kit, a bench lamp, and a preference for taking fewer watches and looking after each one properly.
The name came from the dial — the part of a watch most visible to its owner, the surface that carries the most accumulated meaning. A well-kept dial is evidence of care; a poorly handled one cannot be undone. That observation still shapes how the workshop operates.
Over the following years the workshop's scope settled into three areas: crystal work, dial refinishing, and the more involved territory of pocket watches and complicated movements. Each of these was chosen because it rewards patience rather than speed, and because the margin between a good outcome and a poor one is narrow enough that cutting corners shows.
Dialcraft has not grown into a chain. It remains a single-bench operation in Nonthaburi, which suits the work and the owners who bring their pieces to it.
Our mission
What we are here to do
Dialcraft's purpose is straightforward: to return a watch or pocket watch to working order, or to improve its appearance, in a way that respects what the piece is and what it means to the person who owns it.
That sounds modest. In practice it means assessing each piece before quoting, working station by station, communicating before scope changes, and keeping written records for the work that warrants them. It means not stripping a dial of its patina just because a fresher finish would be easier to achieve. It means telling an owner when replacement is the more sensible path than repair.
There is no aspirational language on the workshop wall. The mission is the work itself, done properly.
"The aim is always to preserve rather than replace, and nothing original is discarded without the owner's agreement."
— Nathakorn Pramoj, founder
The people
Who works here
Nathakorn Pramoj
FOUNDER & LEAD WATCHMAKER
Over fifteen years working on movements of all types, with a particular focus on vintage pocket watches and complicated calendar mechanisms. Trained initially in Bangkok before establishing the workshop independently.
Waraporn Srisombat
CRYSTAL & SURFACE SPECIALIST
Joined Dialcraft in 2018 with a background in optical finishing. Handles all crystal polishing and refinishing work, along with bezel assessment and reseating for both acrylic and mineral glass.
Krittaphat Thongdee
WORKSHOP COORDINATOR
Manages intake, documentation, and communication with owners throughout the repair process. Ensures written assessments are completed and that turnaround timelines are observed.
How we work
Standards we hold ourselves to
Assessment before commitment
Every piece is inspected and assessed before a price is agreed. We do not provide estimates over phone or email without seeing the work first-hand.
Station-by-station progress
Complex work is not treated as a single task. Each stage is completed and checked before the next begins, reducing the risk of one error compounding into another.
Written documentation
Pocket watch and complication restoration receives a written record of the piece's condition on arrival and the work carried out at each stage.
Sympathetic approach to originals
Dial work is matched to the original finish rather than given a uniform new appearance. Parts are preserved wherever possible; nothing original is discarded without consent.
Regulation and final check
Movement work is followed by timing regulation across positions before the piece is returned. We do not hand back a watch we are not satisfied is running correctly.
Owner privacy and data care
Contact details provided for repair intake are used only for the purpose of that repair. We do not maintain marketing lists or share owner information with third parties.
Our expertise
Watch repair in Nonthaburi — what Dialcraft does and how
Watch repair encompasses a wide range of work, and the quality of the outcome depends heavily on the skill, patience, and tools available at the bench. Dialcraft operates in Nonthaburi's Bang Khen district and has settled into a defined scope: crystal polishing and light refinishing, dial restoration and hand refitting, and specialist work on pocket watches and complicated movements. Each of these disciplines requires different skills, and the workshop does not attempt to be all things to all owners.
Crystal work — the removal of surface marks from acrylic and mineral glass and the reseating of crystals where required — is among the most frequently requested watch services. It is also frequently done poorly, either by using abrasive compounds unsuited to the crystal material or by neglecting the bezel during the process. At Dialcraft, each crystal is assessed for material type and scratch depth before any abrasive is applied, and the bezel area is tidied as part of the same service.
Dial refinishing calls for a different kind of attention. A dial carries the legibility and character of a watch, and an over-enthusiastic refinish can strip out decades of patina that an owner valued without realising it. The workshop's approach is to match rather than renew wherever possible — working to the original colour tone, lacquer type, and printing style, and involving the owner in decisions about any significant departure from the original.
Pocket watch and complication restoration represents the longest and most involved work the workshop undertakes. Repeating mechanisms, annual or perpetual calendar trains, and the movement architectures found in antique pocket watches are not standardised in the way that modern wristwatch movements are. Each piece has to be understood on its own terms before any work is started. The written assessment that accompanies this category of work is not a formality — it is the basis on which the owner decides whether and how to proceed.
Dialcraft's location in Nonthaburi makes it accessible from the northern quarters of Bangkok, from the Ngamwongwan and Ratchayothin corridors, and from the wider Nonthaburi residential areas. The workshop is staffed Monday through Saturday and keeps a predictable set of opening hours.
Next step
Bring your piece in for an assessment
There is no charge for looking at a watch and discussing what it needs. Call ahead or fill in the contact form and we will arrange a time that suits you.