Ukrainian Watchmaker Tymofii Dolia And His D01S Chronograph

In our series of uncovering and sharing the stories of several young and upcoming talents in independent watchmaking, we have a very interesting one for you today. Born in Ukraine, schooled in Spain and now located in the Czech Republic, we introduce you to Tymofii Dolia. He presented his first mechanical watch towards the end of 2022 and is now making waves among collectors and enthusiasts. And although we’ve learned the first series of watches is sold-out, you can obtain one of his “Ying & Yang” D01S Chronographs through Ineichen Zürich right now!

Robin, MONOCHROME Watches – Tymofii, can you introduce yourself to our readers?

I’m Tymofii Dolia, a Ukrainian-born watchmaker. Thanks to my Grandfather I got interested in watches. I liked watching him repairing old and new clocks and watches in his small room. It was like magic to keep the broken watch in my hand and find the reason for its trouble. When I was listening to the clicking of the watch it was like listening to its personal language. So learning the craft of watchmaking was a great choice for my heart when I was 11. That was the beginning of a history of Dolia’S.

How did you first get into watchmaking?

At the age of 14, I had already serviced customer watches at my Grandfather’s workshop. But I felt I wanted to learn much more than just servicing simple watches. I had a dream to make my own designed watch but I had not enough knowledge and experience. I started looking for a school to study watchmaking. In 2015 I had a confirmation from Instituto Mare de Déu de La Mercè (the watchmaking school in Barcelona). So I decided to go there to understand watchmaking, as it is. It was quite challenging as I didn’t know Spanish well. Studying there was very interesting and gave me many opportunities to learn as new as old technologies. I graduated from the Instituto in 2018.

How did you learn the skill needed to create your own watch?

For that, I have to thank Pita Barcelona for the great experience, knowledge and vision of watchmaking, as I had at the same time when I was studying in Spain. Nowadays, I’m working with high-end watches, and making some of them from a desire out of my heart, in Prague, giving them a piece of myself, and enjoying my family life. I owe a lot to Aniceto Jimenez Pita, Eduard Farre, and Jose Matas Rovira for learning more about watchmaking. And of course George Daniels and the great Bible of Watchmaking.

Where did you find the inspiration for your D01S Chronograph?

It was an idea of Yin & Yang, the Chinese concept of describing opposite but interconnecting elements. It was the inner desire of my heart to create something mystical and not fully clear for people, but something that also has a deep philosophical meaning. Something with the opposition of two different elements, which are at the same time interconnected, and without the existence of one, the other cannot be. It shows that there is balance and equilibrium throughout the universe for life to exist.

The dial looks quite unique, how did you create this?

The first step to creating this timepiece was the idea to make my first watch suitable for daily wearing, which has a different look and possibly interests other people. It hasn’t been so easy to follow the way of creating a prototype and then improve it to the piece you can see now. Every watchmaker could share with you their long thoughts of creation. The first thing was an idea and the vision of my first watch. I wanted to make it look spectacular, therefore I had to use different types of materials and techniques for the production and decoration.

The dial is made of bronze and aluminium with two different techniques of hammering and sandblasting. You can also see the minute and hour counters, which have two blued steel circles around them. For reading the time, you can see a ring under the bezel that has hour and minute indicators. The hands of the D01S have different heat blue colours to show the difference between the time hands and the chronograph.

I see a full rotor through the see-through caseback. What movement do you use, and what changes have you made to it?

It’s the well-known ETA 7753. On the reverse side, you can have a look at the oscillating rotor, which I also made in bronze with a weight of 18K gold. It has the same idea as the dial and looks really different and extraordinary because the back cover is open, but at the same time closed. As I mentioned before, the idea was to make a watch for daily use, so the 7753 is a great match. It is my own design. Some steel parts such as screws and levers have also been blued so when the watchmaker opens them you are able to see the difference.

Can you tell us a bit more about the characteristics of the watch?

Sure! The stainless steel 904L case is 41 mm in diameter, with 15,7mm in thickness. Everything was developed by myself. The case has a hammered bezel and hammered pushers and crown to match the finishing on the dial. It has blued hour & minute hands with heat-coloured chronograph hours, minutes and seconds hands. The oscillating weight, dial, hands and subdials are handmade. The different finishing techniques are also applied by hand. I included some heat-blued steel parts like screws and such into the movement. It has a 3 bar, or 30m water resistance so it can be used every day without worries. The watch comes with a handmade leather clutch case and 2 straps; one made out of elephant leather, the second one out of shark leather. I presented the watch late last year and it is now being produced and I hope to deliver them before the end of the year. The price is EUR 6,000 without taxes.

Your D01S Chronograph is limited to 10 pieces. How can people get one, or how can they contact you if they want to learn more about it?

The D01S Chronograph is limited to only 10 pieces and is sold out. If someone wants to get one of the first series, but didn’t make any presale reservation, they can make a bid on the #08 that’s being auctioned by Ineichen Zurich on the 11 of May (the images you see here are of the Prototype). In other cases, maybe one will be available on the grey market in the future. I can also make a unique one if a client wants me to.

What’s on the horizon for you as a watchmaker? Any ideas for future projects?

Watchmaking for me is a real passion. I’ve loved it since I was 11 years old. So, I believe that my independency as a watchmaker will bring pleasure and delight to many of my customers. At the moment I am focused on the DS01 Chronograph but I have plenty of ideas for the future.

Do you also do bespoke work, or just these small series of watches?

Of course, I accept to make any bespoke watch or unique pieces but at the moment only around the same idea as the DS01.

For more information, please visit Tim_Maker_DM on Instagram.