Okay, so I’ve been wanting to try something new for a while, and a buddy of mine suggested I try to remake a watch. Not just any watch, mind you, but a Patek Philippe. Yeah, I know, pretty ambitious, right? I ended up picking the Gondolo 7042/100G-010. Fancy name, I know. It’s got all these diamonds and stuff.
First things first, I needed to get my hands on the materials. Now, I’m not made of money, so I wasn’t about to go out and buy real gold and diamonds. I did some digging around and found that most folks use 316 or 904L stainless steel for these kinds of projects. Sounds good enough for me, I thought. I found a supplier online after a bit of searching, I managed to order some stainless steel.
- Ordered stainless steel sheets.
- Looked up diamond alternatives.
- Found some decent-looking fake diamonds online.
Next, I started looking into the watch’s design. The Gondolo 7042/100G-010 has this white gold case with diamonds along the bezel and lugs. And the bezel, it’s all fancy and bidirectional rotatable. Seemed like a real headache, but I was determined.
I started by trying to sketch out the design. Let me tell you, drawing isn’t my strong suit, but I did my best. After a few, uh, “interesting” attempts, I finally had a sketch that looked somewhat like the actual watch.
Then, I made the case. Now this was a real challenge. I had to cut the stainless steel into the right shape and then somehow fit the fake diamonds in there. It involved a lot of trial and error, and let’s just say my first few attempts were, well, not great. But I kept at it, and eventually, I managed to create something that resembled the original case.
The dial was another story. The Gondolo has this really pretty diamond-paved dial. To mimic that, I used some of those fake diamonds I ordered. Painstakingly glued each one onto a metal dial. It was a long and tedious process, but I’m actually pretty happy with how it turned out.
The movement.
Obviously, I couldn’t replicate the actual movement of a Patek Philippe. I mean, those things are crazy complicated. So, I opted for a simple, manually-winding mechanical movement that I found online. It’s not the same, but hey, it tells time, and that’s what matters, right?
Putting it all together was the final hurdle. I had the case, the dial, the hands, and the movement. Now, I just had to assemble everything. After a few more mishaps and some choice words, I finally had a finished product. It wasn’t perfect, but it was mine.
Honestly, the whole process was a lot more work than I anticipated. But, it was also a lot of fun. I learned a ton about watchmaking, and I got to test my crafting skills. Would I do it again? Maybe. But next time, I might pick a slightly less complicated model. Maybe a simple model that at least a human can do it.
So, there you have it, my little adventure in remaking a Patek Philippe. It’s not the real deal, but it’s a pretty good imitation if I do say so myself. And hey, I saved myself a ton of money, so that’s always a plus. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go show off my new “Patek Philippe” to my friends. Wish me luck!