Okay, so I’ve been wanting to share this project for a while now. It’s a bit of a doozy, but stick with me, I think you’ll find it interesting. I decided to try my hand at remaking a Patek Philippe Gondolo, specifically the 7042/100G-010 model. Yeah, I know, pretty ambitious, right? But I was itching for a challenge, and this seemed like the perfect one.
First things first, I spent hours just looking at pictures of this watch online. I mean, I scrutinized every detail, every angle. The Gondolo 7042/100G-010, it’s a real beauty – white gold, rectangular case, and that stunning diamond-paved dial. I needed to get a real good feel for it before I even started.
After that, I started gathering materials. Now, I didn’t use real gold or diamonds, of course. I’m not made of money! I opted for 316 stainless steel for the case, something a bit more budget-friendly but still sturdy. For the bezel, I went with a fluted design, you know, to give it that classic look. The dial was tricky. I wanted to mimic that “bright” look, so I spent days trying different materials until I found one that worked.
- Research: Looked at tons of photos and read everything I could find about the Gondolo 7042/100G-010.
- Materials: Got some 316 stainless steel for the case, figured out the bezel, and played around with different stuff to get the dial right.
- Assembly: This was the hard part. Putting it all together was like solving a super complicated puzzle.
Then came the assembly. Oh boy, this was the real test. I carefully started putting the pieces together. It was slow going, and I definitely messed up a few times. But I kept at it, referencing those pictures I had studied, making sure everything was as close to the original as possible. It felt like I was performing surgery, but on a watch!
The most nerve-wracking part was setting the “diamonds.” I used some tiny crystals instead of real diamonds to give it that bling. Placing each one on the dial flange and bezel was a test of patience, I tell ya. My hands were shaking, and I was sweating bullets, but I managed to get them all on there, and it looked pretty darn good, if I do say so myself.
After many, many hours of work, I finally finished. Holding the completed watch in my hands was such a satisfying feeling. It wasn’t a perfect replica, but I was proud of what I had accomplished. It looked great, felt solid, and actually kept time pretty well!
So, that’s my Gondolo project story. It was a tough challenge, but totally worth it. I learned a ton about watchmaking, and I got a cool-looking watch out of it. What do you guys think? Would you ever try something like this?
What I learned
- Patience is key: This took way longer than I thought, but I just kept pushing through.
- Details matter: I spent so much time on the little things, but they really made a difference in the end.
- It’s okay to mess up: I made mistakes, learned from them, and kept going.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this little adventure of mine. Let me know what you think in the comments! Maybe I’ll tackle another watch project soon. Any suggestions?
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