Okay, so, a while back I got it in my head that I wanted a fancy watch. Not just any fancy watch, but one of those super expensive Patek Philippe ones. Yeah, I know, they’re way out of my league, price-wise. But then I thought, “Why not try to remake one myself?” I’d heard about folks doing it, and I figured, I’m pretty handy, how hard could it be?
I started by picking the model I liked the most. This was easy. I’ve always had a thing for the Calatrava 6119R-001. It’s simple, classy, you know? Gold case, white dial, just really clean looking. So, that was the target. I spent a good chunk of time just staring at pictures of it online, getting all the details in my head.
Then came the fun part – trying to find the parts. Now, I wasn’t about to use real Patek Philippe parts, obviously. That would defeat the whole purpose of making it affordable! So, I hit up a bunch of online stores, you know, the ones that sell watch parts and movements and all that. It took some digging, but I managed to find stuff that looked pretty close to the real deal.
- Movement: First, I needed a movement. I found a decent automatic one that was similar in size and function to what the real Calatrava uses.
- Case: The case was trickier. I wanted that rose gold look, but real gold was out of the question. I ended up finding a gold-plated case that was the right size and shape. It wasn’t perfect, but it was close enough.
- Dial and Hands: The dial and hands were probably the easiest parts to source. There are tons of places online where you can buy dials and hands, and I found some that matched the Calatrava’s style pretty well.
Once I had all the parts, it was time to put it all together. Now, I’ve tinkered with watches before, but I’m no professional watchmaker. So, I was a little nervous, to be honest. But I took my time, followed some tutorials I found online, and eventually, I got it all assembled.
It wasn’t easy, I’ll tell you that. There were a few moments where I thought I’d messed it all up. But I kept at it, and in the end, it actually turned out pretty good! It’s not a perfect replica, of course. There are definitely some differences if you look closely. But from a distance, it looks a lot like the real Calatrava 6119R-001. And you know what? I’m pretty proud of it.
The whole thing cost me a fraction of what a real Patek Philippe would have cost. And I had a lot of fun doing it. It was a cool little project, and now I have a pretty nice-looking watch to show for it. Not too shabby, right?
Some Thoughts
Would I recommend doing this? I don’t know. It depends on how much you like tinkering with things and how much you care about having a watch that looks like a Patek Philippe. It’s definitely not for everyone. But if you’re up for a challenge and you’re on a budget, it’s definitely something to consider. Just don’t expect it to fool any watch experts! Anyway, it’s been a fun ride, sharing this with you all. Hope you found it interesting!