Okay, so I’ve been wanting to remake a Patek Philippe watch for a while now. You know, those super fancy, expensive watches that just scream luxury? Yeah, those. I decided to go with the Gondolo 4962/200R-001, because, well, it’s just gorgeous.
First thing I did was look up as much as I could about this watch online. There isn’t a ton of info out there, which made it kind of a fun challenge. I saw that this particular model is an 18k rose gold beauty, with a brown dial. I’m not gonna lie, the rose gold was part of the appeal for me.
Getting Down to Business
After that, it was time to get down to business. I needed to figure out what materials I was going to use. Obviously, I wasn’t going to use real 18k rose gold, because, you know, I’m not made of money. I opted for a rose gold-colored alloy instead. It looks pretty close, and it’s way more affordable.
Next, I had to find a movement that would work. This was tricky, because the Gondolo has a pretty specific movement. I looked around, talked to some watchmaker friends, and finally found a movement that would do the trick. It wasn’t the exact same, but it was close enough for my purposes.
Putting It All Together
- I started by working on the case. I used my tools to shape the alloy into the right form, which, let me tell you, was not easy. The Gondolo has a unique, curved shape that took a lot of patience to get right.
- Once the case was done, I moved on to the dial. I found a nice brown material that matched the original pretty well. I also had to figure out how to recreate the little floral details on the dial, which was a whole other challenge.
- Then came the hands. I found some that were the right shape and size, and I painted them to match the rose gold color of the case.
- Finally, I put it all together. I installed the movement, attached the dial and hands, and closed up the case.
The Final Result
And there it was, my very own remake of the Patek Philippe Gondolo 4962/200R-001. It’s not perfect, of course. There are some differences from the original, and I made a few mistakes along the way. But overall, I’m really happy with how it turned out. It’s a beautiful watch, and I’m proud to say I made it myself.
This whole process was a lot of fun, and I learned a ton along the way. It’s definitely something I’d like to do again in the future. Maybe next time I’ll try a different model, or maybe I’ll even try to design my own watch from scratch. Who knows? The possibilities are endless!
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