So, I’ve been obsessed with watches lately, you know, the fancy kind. I mean, who doesn’t love a good timepiece? Anyway, I stumbled upon this beauty, the Patek Philippe Gondolo 7042/100G-010. It’s like, a dream watch. And you know what? I decided, “Why not try to recreate it?” Yeah, you heard that right. A full-on remake.
I started by, like, seriously studying this thing. Looked up everything I could find online. Turns out, these watches are pretty expensive. We’re talking, like, over 13,000 bucks at the lowest and up to 53 grand for some in the Gondolo collection! Luxury, right? And that’s not even the one I was looking at! Apparently, the 7042/100G-010 can go for around 150,000 big ones. Crazy, huh?
Then I started gathering materials. Now, I’m not made of money, so I couldn’t exactly get all the original stuff. But I got creative, you know? Found some pretty decent white gold-looking metal, and for the diamonds, I used some, uh, let’s just say “blingy” alternatives. Let’s just say, I had to improvise a bit.
- Research: Spent hours looking at pictures and specs of the Gondolo 7042/100G-010.
- Material Gathering: Found alternative materials that looked similar to the original.
- Design: Sketched out the design, trying to get the cushion shape and those baguette diamond placements just right.
- Assembly: This was the tricky part. Putting it all together, making sure everything fit.
- Detailing: Adding the final touches, you know, to make it look as close to the real deal as possible.
The design process was a whole other thing. It’s a “form” watch, which is apparently a thing for Patek Philippe. This one’s got a cushion shape, with the manually-winding mechanical watch, and it’s 31mm by 34.8mm, which is pretty specific. I made a bunch of sketches, trying to get it all down. It also has baguette diamonds, I think that is how you call them, along the bezel and the part that holds the strap, called the lugs, I believe.
Putting it all together, man, that was a challenge. I’m no watchmaker, but I did my best. I used some tools I had around the house and even bought a few cheap ones. It was a lot of trial and error, let me tell you. I wanted to capture the 215 PS caliber. I am not sure what that means, but it seems important.
The detailing was the fun part, though. Making it look all shiny and new, just like the real Gondolo. It felt like being a real craftsman, even if it was just for fun.
In the end, did it look exactly like the Patek Philippe Gondolo 7042/100G-010? Well, not exactly, haha. But, hey, it was a pretty good attempt, right? I mean, for someone who’s never done anything like this before. And you know what? I learned a lot. About watches, about design, and about my own patience. Plus, now I have a cool-looking watch that I made myself. Pretty neat, huh?
Would I do it again? Maybe. It was a lot of work, but it was also a lot of fun. And who knows, maybe one day I’ll actually get my hands on the real Gondolo. A guy can dream, right?
Anyway, that’s my little adventure in watchmaking. Hope you enjoyed the story! If I can do it, maybe you can too!
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