Okay, so I’ve been wanting to get my hands on a Patek Philippe Gondolo 7042/100G-010 for a while now. You know, the one you see on their official website? It’s a real beauty, but the price tag? Forget about it! So, I thought, why not try to remake it myself? I mean, how hard could it be, right?
First things first, I started digging around for information about this watch. I mean, I needed to know everything about it. The size, the materials, the movement – you name it. The official Patek Philippe website was a good starting point. I took down notes on every detail I could find, pictures, descriptions, you know the drill.
Then, I started looking for the parts. Now, this was a real pain. Finding the exact same materials as the original? Not easy, folks, not easy. I spent hours searching online, on different forums and marketplaces. I even went to some local watch repair shops, hoping they might have some spare parts lying around. No such luck. I ended up settling for similar-looking materials, like, instead of the exact same white gold, I found a good-looking alloy that kinda resembled it. Close enough, I guess.
- Sourcing the Movement:
The movement, oh boy, that was a whole other story. Finding a replica of the original movement was impossible. So I decided to use a generic quartz movement instead. It’s not the same, I know, but hey, it tells time, right?
- Crafting the Dial and Hands:
Next up, the dial and the hands. I tried printing out a high-resolution image of the dial from the website and gluing it onto a thin piece of metal. Let me tell you, it looked pretty awful. So I scrapped that idea and started experimenting with different paints and techniques to recreate the dial by hand. It took a lot of trial and error, a lot of wasted materials, and a whole lot of patience. For the hands, I bought some generic watch hands online and tried to modify them to match the shape of the Gondolo’s hands. That was a real pain, too.
- Assembling the Watch:
Once I had all the parts, it was time to put everything together. This was probably the most nerve-wracking part of the whole process. I carefully assembled the movement, the dial, and the hands, following some online tutorials for generic watch assembly. Then, I tried to fit everything into the case I made. Let me tell you, it was a tight fit. But I managed to get it all in there, eventually.
After weeks of hard work, the watch was finally finished. And you know what? It actually looked kind of decent! I mean, it’s not a perfect replica, not by a long shot. But it kinda resembles the Gondolo 7042/100G-010, and it tells the time, which is all that really matters, right?
The Final Result
So, there you have it. My journey of remaking a Patek Philippe Gondolo. It was a tough, frustrating, but ultimately rewarding experience. Would I do it again? Maybe. Probably not. But hey, at least I got a unique watch out of it, and I learned a lot along the way. It’s a far cry from the original, the hands are a bit wonky, and the dial is definitely not perfect. But it’s mine, and I made it, so that’s something, right? Plus, I saved a ton of money, so there’s that too. Anyone else tried something like this? Let me know in the comments. I’d love to hear about your experiences.
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