Okay, so, I’ve been messing around with watches lately, and I got this wild idea to try and remake that Patek Philippe Calatrava 6119R-001. Yeah, the one they have in all the fancy stores. It’s a real beauty, with that “Clous de Paris” pattern, you know? And it’s not huge, just a nice size. They say it’s about $28,737 or something crazy like that. I thought, “Why not give it a shot?”
First off, I spent ages just staring at pictures of this watch. I mean, I really got into the details. I grabbed every photo I could find, even those from the 2024 new model in rose gold, with the silver dial. They’re all over the internet if you look. I printed them out, zoomed in, and tried to figure out how everything fits together. It was like detective work, honestly.
Then came the fun part – trying to actually make the thing. I started with the case. Now, I don’t have any fancy 18K rose gold lying around, so I had to get creative. I found some metal that looked kinda similar and started shaping it. Let me tell you, getting that perfect circle is way harder than it looks. I used some basic tools I have to keep hammering away and slowly formed the case shape. It took me a good few days, and my hands were sore, but I got there in the end.
- The Dial: This was another beast. That “Clous de Paris” pattern is insane. I tried a few different methods to recreate it, using tiny tools and a lot of patience. It’s not perfect, not even close, but it gives you an idea of the real thing. I spent hours, maybe even days, just on this part. I used some different tools to make that tiny pattern. The dial color was hard to make. I tried many different colors of paint to mix and match, and finally got a similar one.
- The Hands and Markers: These were fiddly as heck. I used some thin pieces of metal and tried to shape them like the ones on the real watch. They’re so small, it’s like working with grains of rice. I glued those tiny things on the dial, and to be honest, some of them fell off when I did the final assembly, but most of them still there.
- The Movement: Okay, I’m not a watchmaker, so I didn’t even try to make a real movement. I just found an old watch I had and took out the movement. It doesn’t fit perfectly, but it’s inside there, ticking away. I bought an old watch on the street and took its movement. It cost me $10. I tried to modify it to fit in my case. But it was hard, really hard.
Putting it all together was a whole other adventure. I had to be super careful not to mess up all the work I’d already done. There were moments when I thought I’d ruined the whole thing, but I kept at it. Finally, after what felt like forever, I had something that kinda resembled the Patek Philippe Calatrava 6119R-001. Of course, it’s not as shiny or as perfect, and the movement is just there for show, but hey, I made it!
The Result
So, there you have it. My homemade Calatrava. It doesn’t tell time perfectly, and it’s definitely not as fancy as the real thing, but I’m pretty proud of it. It was a fun project, and I learned a ton about watches and how they’re made. Would I do it again? Maybe. But next time, I might pick a simpler watch! If you’re thinking about trying something similar, I say go for it! Just be prepared to spend a lot of time and maybe get a little frustrated along the way. It’s all worth it in the end, though. Trust me.
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