Alright, so, I’ve been itching to get my hands dirty with a new project, and I finally decided to take the plunge. I’ve always been fascinated by fancy watches, especially the Patek Philippe ones. They’re like, the top of the line, you know? So, I thought, why not try to remake one? I picked the Patek Philippe Calatrava 6119R-001 because it looked both classy and kinda complicated, which is right up my alley.
First things first, I spent a good chunk of time just looking up everything I could find about this watch. I mean, I really dug deep. I read articles, and studied all these pictures of the watch from every possible angle. I even tried to find out what the watch costs, and it is so expensive! I noted down all the little details, like how the hour markers are all faceted and rose gold, and the hands are this dauphine style, which I learned is a fancy way of saying they’re kinda pointy. And I found it’s about $33,110, or $26,278 used!
Then came the fun part – sketching and planning. I grabbed my notebook and started drawing out the watch face, the case, the whole nine yards. I made a list of materials I thought I’d need, and researched where I could get them without breaking the bank. I knew I couldn’t make a perfect copy, but I wanted to get as close as possible with what I had.
- Get materials for the watch case and face
- Find some rose gold bits for the hour markers
- Figure out how to make or find dauphine-style hands
- Get tools for putting everything together
- Don’t forget a strap!
The next step was actually trying to put this thing together. I started with the watch face, carefully trying to recreate that guilloched hobnail pattern, also called Clous de Paris which is another thing I learned. It’s that bumpy texture on the dial. It was tough! I messed up a few times, but I eventually got something that looked pretty decent.
After that, I worked on the hour markers. I found some tiny rose gold pieces. They weren’t exactly the same, but they gave the right vibe. Gluing them onto the watch face was super tricky, but I managed to do it without making too much of a mess.
The hands were another challenge. I couldn’t find any dauphine hands that were the right size, so I had to try and shape some myself. It took a lot of patience and a few failed attempts, but I finally got them looking pretty good.
Putting It All Together
Putting everything together was the most nerve-wracking part. I carefully assembled the watch, piece by piece, making sure everything fit just right. I even found a nice leather strap that matched the original pretty well.
When I finally finished, I was pretty proud of what I had made. It’s not a real Patek Philippe, obviously, but it’s a pretty cool homage, if I do say so myself. It was a lot of work, but I learned a ton about watchmaking, and it was a blast to see my idea come to life.
So, that’s my story of remaking the Patek Philippe Calatrava 6119R-001. It was a fun, challenging project, and I learned a lot along the way. If you’re thinking about trying something like this, go for it! Just be prepared to put in a lot of time and effort, and don’t be afraid to make mistakes. It’s all part of the learning process.
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