Okay, so, today I wanted to share something really cool I’ve been working on. I’ve been trying to remake the Patek Philippe Gondolo 4962/200R-001, original order. Sounds fancy, right? It’s a pretty neat-looking watch, and I thought, why not give it a shot?
First off, I started by looking up a bunch of stuff about this watch. Found out that it’s called the Gondolo Serata, and it’s supposed to be super elegant and all that. There’s this new version in rose gold, which looked really nice in the pictures I saw.
I then gathered all the materials I thought I’d need. This was a bit of a guessing game, to be honest. I got some basic watchmaking tools, some metals that looked like rose gold, and a bunch of other bits and pieces that I thought might come in handy. It’s always better to have more than you need, right?
Next, I started working on the watch case. The Gondolo has this unique shape, kind of rectangular but not quite. I spent a lot of time trying to get this right, shaping the metal, and making sure the dimensions were as close as possible to the real deal – 28.6 x 40.85 mm, to be exact. It was tough, and I definitely messed up a few times, but that’s part of the process, I guess.
- Measure twice, cut once, they say. Well, I measured like ten times and still messed up, but I got there in the end.
- Filing down the metal was a real pain, it took me days to get it right.
After I finally got the case right, I moved on to the dial. This was a whole other challenge. I tried to find something that looked like the original, but it wasn’t easy. I ended up using some materials that I had to modify quite a bit to get the look I wanted. The original has this really intricate design, and trying to replicate that was super hard. I painted and placed the elements, and that felt a bit better.
Then came the movement. Now, I’m not a professional watchmaker, so this was the trickiest part for me. I used a basic movement that I found, and I tried to modify it to fit the case. It was a tight fit, and I had to be really careful not to damage anything. I spent hours just trying to get this right.
- Fitting the movement was like trying to put a puzzle together, but without all the pieces.
- I broke a few parts along the way, which was super frustrating.
Once I had the movement in place, I started working on the strap. I found some leather that I thought would look good, and I cut and stitched it together to make a strap that looked similar to the original. I tried to make it look as close as possible, but it’s definitely not perfect.
Finally, after weeks of work, I put everything together. It was a real moment of truth. And you know what? It actually looked pretty good! I mean, it’s not a real Patek Philippe, and it certainly doesn’t have the same quality, but for a homemade project, I was pretty proud of it.
What I Learned
This whole process was a huge learning experience. I learned a lot about watchmaking, about working with metal, and about patience. It was frustrating at times, but also really rewarding. And it gave me a new appreciation for the craftsmanship that goes into making these kinds of watches. I’m already thinking about what I’m going to try to remake next. Maybe something a little simpler next time, though!
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