Next came the painstaking task of learning how to do this and where to source the quality materials required, such as sapphire crystals and high-grade stainless steel.

I was fortunate to make contact with some very experienced watch builders who helped me on my journey. I will always be grateful to them for their patience and expertise and we still collaborate today.

After much trial and error, broken parts, cut fingers and pulled out hair my first unique watch was successfully built and I was happy. However, it would have been far cheaper to buy an expensive watch as I had now spent thousands on parts and tools and more hours in labour than I could count.

Then the trouble started. My thoughts turned to "how would this look with different hands, a different bezel, a different dial?". Over the next few months my original watch underwent more changes than I can remember until eventually it was built in my son's favourite colours. He still wears the same watch today.

Having caught the bug I started to design more watches for myself. These were admired by friends and family, many of whom asked if I would create watches for them. Soon I was receiving enquires from people who had seen my work and these resulted in commissions to build watches for them. Zak Torres Watches was born.

We have now built many different pieces for a variety of clients, from traditional watches to the exciting world of full custom design. Each timepiece is individually designed and hand built by me, allowing for strict quality control and the personal touch in each build. All customers enjoy the knowledge that their watch is one of a kind.

We have supplied watches to business, clubs, organisations and for commemorations and weddings. Every build is as personal to me as it is to my client, which is why I enjoy hand building every piece myself.

I look forward to building something truly amazing for you too.