Why We Started
Mass-Produced "Custom"
The watch customization market is flooded with cheap, stamped brass blanks imported from overseas. These paper-thin discs (0.4mm) bend easily, look identical, and sell for 10x what they cost to make.
It's like calling a fast-food burger "custom" because you chose the toppings. The foundation is still mass-produced garbage.
Solid Billet Manufacturing
We refused to build on a compromised foundation. Instead of importing blanks, we bought a mill. We start with solid blocks of aerospace-grade material and machine away everything that isn't your design.
It's the difference between assembling prefab furniture and having a craftsman build you a table. Different process. Different outcome. Different lifespan.
How We Compare
PiDials
Mass Market
Traditional Luxury
We occupy the space between cheap customization and inaccessible luxury. Precision engineering at a fair price.
From Design to Delivery
Every component follows the same rigorous path through our workshop.
You Design Online
Use our studio to create your design. Choose materials, colors, patterns, and text. See it rendered in real-time.
We Generate Toolpaths
Your design becomes machine instructions. We calculate laser parameters and cutting sequences to match your specifications.
CNC Manufacturing
Solid billets are milled to exact dimensions. Holes, feet, and contours cut to ±0.01mm tolerance.
Laser Engraving & Coloring
Fiber laser burns your design into the metal. For titanium, we manipulate oxide layers to create structural color.
Quality Control
Every dial is inspected under magnification. Tolerances verified. Finish checked. No compromises.
Shipped to You
Packaged securely and shipped direct from our workshop. Usually 2-3 weeks from order to delivery.
Why It Matters
Built to Last Generations
Titanium doesn't corrode. It doesn't fade. It doesn't scratch easily. Your grandchildren could wear this dial, and it would look the same as the day you received it.
One of One, Forever
Your design exists nowhere else. We don't keep templates. We don't reuse patterns. What you create is genuinely unique—mathematically impossible to replicate exactly.
Aerospace Standards, Watch Scale
We use the same materials and tolerances as aircraft components. Grade 5 titanium. Sub-millimeter precision. It's overbuilt for a watch—intentionally.
Luxury Without the Markup
No distributors. No retailers. No brand tax. You pay for the metal, the machine time, and our expertise. That's it.
Technical Excellence
The engineering behind the aesthetic.
Structural Color Technology
We don't use paint or dyes. Instead, we use a laser to create microscopic oxide layers on titanium. These layers interfere with light waves, producing color through physics, not pigment.
What this means for you: The color is permanent. It can't chip, fade, or wear off. It's part of the metal itself.
Mechanical Tolerances
Our CNC mill operates at ±0.01mm precision. That's one-hundredth of a millimeter—about 1/4 the width of a human hair.
What this means for you: Your dial fits perfectly. Dial feet align. The movement sits flush. Everything just works.
Material Science
We work exclusively with aerospace-grade alloys: Grade 5 Titanium (Ti-6Al-4V), 316L Stainless Steel, and C360 Free-Cutting Brass. Each material behaves differently under laser and cutter.
What this means for you: We understand the metallurgy. We know how to make each material look its best.
No Outsourcing. Ever.
Every PiDial is milled, engraved, and finished in our Canadian workshop. This isn't about nationalism—it's about control. We control the alloy. The tolerance. The finish.
There's no drop-shipping. No middleman. When you email us, you're talking to the people who will physically make your dial. We answer technical questions because we're the technicians.
Built by a Machinist, Not a Marketer
"I got tired of seeing 'custom' watches that were just catalog parts assembled in a warehouse. I wanted to build something that felt like a machine, not an accessory."
I'm not a brand consultant. I'm a machinist who taught myself laser physics and CAD programming because I was frustrated with what was available. This company exists because I wanted to make things properly—and it turns out other people wanted that too.
PiDials isn't a brand founded by a marketing agency. It's a workshop that accidentally became a business.
— The Founder
Machinist & Designer,
Canada
"We don't do 'good enough'. We do 'exact'."
This philosophy extends to everything: material selection, machine calibration, quality control, and customer communication. Precision isn't just about the manufacturing—it's about the entire experience.