DIY e-ink watch with 20+ faces gets open-source release plans

A developer known as Nav-Tech has showcased a custom-built e-ink watch on a forum dedicated to electronic paper projects. The device is powered by the Waveshare ESP32-S3-ePaper-1.54 DevBoard, and its interface draws heavily from the designer's experience with Pebble smartwatches, with elements tweaked to suit the e-paper display.

The watch comes with more than twenty watch faces. Beyond telling time, it includes an alarm, a Pomodoro timer, an e-reader, a dice roller, weather forecasts, and voice memo recording. The creator is also working on adding an offline version of Wikipedia and a vibration motor.

For now, the source code and 3D-printable case files have not been released. However, in the comments, Nav-Tech said they are setting up a Ko-Fi page where all project files will be made available for those who want to build their own. No specific timeline for the upload has been provided.

The project has drawn attention from the e-ink community, as such devices are rarely shared openly. The watch demonstrates how a standard e-paper development board can be turned into a versatile gadget that replaces several standalone tools.