Alright, so I’ve been wanting to mess around with watches lately, and I thought, why not try to remake a fancy one? I picked the Patek Philippe Calatrava 5227J-001. I mean, that name is a mouthful, right? But it looks pretty slick, so I figured it would be a fun project. From what I saw online, these things go for like 30 grand or more. Crazy, huh? I’m not made of money, so no way I’m buying a real one. But a guy can dream, and more importantly, a guy can build!
First things first, I had to find out what makes this watch tick, literally. I looked all over for information. There were some on an online marketplace, priced from $28K to over $40K. Free shipping, though! I also found one listed for $27,545, an automatic 18K yellow gold model with a deployment buckle. I guess that’s important if you’re into the details.
I also stumbled upon a listing for a brand new 2024 model, 18k yellow gold, 39mm, the whole shebang, with the original box and papers. I spent hours staring at pictures, trying to memorize every little detail.
Now, the real work began. I started gathering materials. I didn’t exactly have 18K gold lying around, so I had to get creative with the materials. I found some decent gold-colored plating, close enough, right? I even used some of the parts from an old, broken watch I found at a thrift store.
I won’t lie, it was a pain in the neck to get everything to fit together. There were moments I thought I’d lose my mind. A few times I messed up and had to start over, especially with the smaller pieces. But I kept at it. I got some tools, watched some videos online, you know, the usual DIY stuff. It was like putting together a really complicated puzzle, but way more frustrating.
The Build
Here is how I actually built this thing:
- Case: I used a mold and some metal sheets to get that round shape.
- Dial: This was tricky. I used an existing dial from an old watch that was a little too large, and I had to sand it down to size. After that I applied the gold color and the markings.
- Hands: I reshaped some old watch hands to look like the ones on the 5227J.
- Movement: I used a cheap automatic movement I found online. Not a Patek movement, but it gets the job done. It was a bit too large, so I had to file down the edges to get it to fit inside the case.
- Strap: I picked up a leather strap and managed to make it look like the original. Or at least, that’s what I think. I made sure to include a gold-colored buckle.
After weeks of tinkering, I finally finished it. Does it look exactly like a real Patek Philippe 5227J-001? Probably not. But does it look cool? I think so! And the best part is, it actually works! I’ve been wearing it around, and it keeps time pretty well. Plus, I get to tell people I made it myself. They probably think I am crazy, but it has been a fun conversation starter.
I’m pretty proud of how it turned out. It’s not perfect, but it’s mine. And who knows, maybe this is just the start. Maybe I’ll try to remake another fancy watch. Or maybe I’ll just stick to simpler projects. We’ll see. For now, I’m just happy to have a unique watch that I can say I built from scratch.
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