Valerii Danevych, a wood-crafting master from the Ukraine, has dedicated his life to making functional wrist-watches entirely out of wood, with the sole exception of a metal spring needed to propel the movement.
We’ve posted our share of unique wristwatch creations on Oddity Central, from the bombproof Kaventsmann Triggerfish Bronze A2 to the amazing wristwatch part motorcycles of Jose Geraldo Reis Pfau, but nothing quite like the wooden marvels of Valerii Danevych. Coming from a long line of cabinetmakers, the Ukrainian craftsman has always had a fascination for wood. He started making miniatures in his early school days, including an impressive 3cm guitar with human hair strings, but as he grew up and his skills improved, restoring wooden objects and creating tiny artworks just didn’t give him any satisfaction anymore. He just couldn’t get the idea of creating complicated mechanical things out of his head, so in 2005, without having any training as a watchmaker, he began working on functional wooden wristwatches. It took a while for Valerii to determine which type of woods were most suitable for the tiny parts needed, and for him to learn the basics of watchmaking, but by 2008, he had completed his first functional wooden pocket watch.
