Okay, so I’ve been itching to share this crazy project I just finished. I decided to try my hand at remaking a Patek Philippe watch. You know, those super fancy, expensive ones? Yeah, I went there. Specifically, I wanted to recreate the Gondolo 7042/100R-010. That’s a real beauty with all those diamonds, but man, it costs a fortune!
First off, I spent hours just staring at pictures of this thing online. I found some info on places like Chrono24 and the official Patek Philippe site to get all the details right. This watch is part of their Gondolo collection, which is all about that Art Deco style – you know, fancy shapes and lots of bling.
Gathering Supplies
Then, I had to gather my materials. I obviously wasn’t using real diamonds or solid rose gold, but I found some pretty good substitutes. It was actually kind of fun hunting for all the little pieces that look the part. It is time for me to show my imitation talent!
Putting It Together
Next came the hard part – actually putting it all together. The Gondolo 7042/100R-010 has a manually wound movement, caliber 215. I did my best to mimic that. The dial is where most of the action is on this watch. It’s covered in diamonds – 251 of them, to be exact, all set in a cool circular pattern. There are also 12 baguette diamonds. I used my substitute stones and carefully arranged them to match the original design. It took forever, but I think I got it pretty close. But there is still some details that are not perfect enough, I think I need to do more research on this watch.
Assembling The Case
The case is supposed to be 31mm by 34.8mm, and it’s all 18k rose gold with even more diamonds along the bezel and lugs. Again, I did my best with what I had. There are a lot of diamond watches out there, but this one just has that special something.
The Finishing Touches
Finally, I put all the pieces together, and voila! My very own, not-so-expensive version of the Patek Philippe Gondolo 7042/100R-010. It might not be the real deal, but I’m pretty darn proud of how it turned out. It’s a great conversation starter, and hey, it looks pretty fancy on my wrist!
- Looked at tons of pictures online
- Found fake diamonds and gold-colored stuff
- Carefully glued the “diamonds” in the right pattern
- Put the whole thing together like a puzzle
It’s not perfect, but it’s mine, and I made it. I guess that’s not the same as buying the real thing, but it was sure a lot cheaper and a heck of a lot of fun to make. If you get the itch to make something crazy like this, just go for it! I did it, and I had zero skills before I started. I am really satisfied with this experience!
Click to consult