Alright, so, I’ve been messing around with watches lately, and I gotta tell you about this project I just wrapped up. I tried to remake that fancy Patek Philippe watch, the Calatrava 6119G-001. Yeah, that’s the one. Saw it once in a shop, all shiny and whatnot. Costs a fortune, by the way.
First off, I started by just staring at a bunch of pictures of this thing online. I zoomed in, zoomed out, trying to get a feel for every little detail. This watch, it’s got this charcoal gray dial, and a white gold case, 39mm. Looks simple, but it’s not, you know?
Then, I got down to sketching. Nothing fancy, just trying to copy what I saw. The hands, the numbers, that little pattern around the edge. Spent a good few days just on that, believe it or not. It was tough getting it right, but also kinda relaxing, in a way.
Next, I had to think about the materials. Now, I’m not using real white gold or anything, obviously. Found some decent alternatives though. Got this metal that looks pretty similar for the case, and a dark gray paper for the dial. Not the same, but hey, it’s the look we’re going for, right?
Assembly time!
This was the tricky part. I carefully cut out the dial, glued it on. Made the hands out of some thin metal strips. Put it all together inside the case. It’s not as thin as the real deal – that one’s only 8.08mm thin. But I did my best, had to make it a little thicker to fit everything.
- Cut out the dial carefully.
- Made the hands from metal strips.
- Assembled everything in the case.
Honestly, the whole process was a bit of a rollercoaster. Frustrating at times, but super satisfying when I finally saw it all come together. It’s not perfect, not by a long shot. But it looks kinda like the real thing, at least from afar, haha.
They say these watches are like an investment, like land. But, you know, land you can use, grow stuff on it. What you gonna do with a watch? Anyway, I’m not planning to sell my little project. It’s more of a personal achievement, a story to tell.
So, yeah, that’s my little adventure in watchmaking. Learned a ton, had some laughs, maybe a few too many close calls with the glue. But in the end, I’ve got this cool little watch that reminds me of that shiny one in the store. And who knows, maybe I’ll try another one someday. Maybe something even fancier next time.
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