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Creepy but beautiful insect works of art made from old watch parts

Scorpion made from old watch parts

Justin Gershenson-Gates, typically sells steampunk-like jewelry made from old watch parts on his A Mechanical Mind website but occasionally he reveals odd, but beautiful, machine-like insect thingies made from tiny light bulbs, electronic circuitry  and yes, old watch parts – and people can’t get enough of them. Gates has created mechanical mantises, scorpions, butterflies, and insects with each design a tad bit different than the previous one. Each intricate design may require cutting, sanding, shaping and soldering of more than 52 soldered joints.

“Even though my pieces are very small, I want to reuse as much as possible, and people generally just throw away their old watches. The parts I use are generally from watches from the 1880s through 1950s, as they are of better quality than those made more recently. Half my time is spent looking for parts.”

The beautiful pieces take from 3-12 hours to construct and can sell for $300 or more.

Gates takes requests for unique pieces but be forewarned, there’s already a backlog for these wonderful works of art.

Below is a sampling of Gate’s beautiful work.

Sources, A Mechanical Mind, Crave, CNET
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