He had built a functioning version with a carefully balanced bridge and a distinctive arrangement of three support points.
It wasn't ready for mass production.
It needed further refinement, precision manufacturing, and endurance testing.
But it worked.
The first time he demonstrated it for his daughter, she stared through the magnifying lens and gasped.
The seconds indicator moved with extraordinary elegance.
It appeared to float beneath the crystal, drifting through a delicate circular display without a conventional visible central support.
“Daddy!”
He laughed.
“You like it?”
She leaned closer.
“It looks like magic.”
He smiled.
“That's what good engineering sometimes looks like.”
She watched the mechanism for several minutes.
Then looked up.
“Are you going to sell it?”
He hesitated.
“Maybe.”
She became excited.
“To a big company?”
“Possibly.”
“Which one?”
He looked toward a magazine resting beside his workbench.
On the cover was an advertisement for Aster & Vale, a luxury watchmaker whose products appeared in department stores and prestigious boutiques around the world.
The company had a reputation for extraordinary craftsmanship.
Its watches were expensive.
Its history was impressive.
And its executives frequently spoke about respecting the world's finest mechanical talent.
Her father pointed toward the advertisement.
“I've been corresponding with their development office.”
The girl's eyes widened.
“They want your watch?”
He smiled cautiously.
“They've agreed to examine the prototype.”
She clapped.
“Daddy, that's amazing!”
He laughed.
“It's a meeting, princess. Nothing more.”
But she could see his excitement.
He had spent years developing the mechanism.
Years working after midnight.
Years buying small amounts of brass and steel because he couldn't afford expensive materials.
Years teaching himself techniques that required equipment far beyond the resources of his little shop.
And now a major watch company was willing to look at his work.
He prepared carefully.
He organized his notebooks.
Photographed the prototype.
Documented the component geometry.