Alright, folks, let me tell you about this little project I got myself into. I’ve always been a fan of those fancy watches, especially the Patek Philippe ones. There’s this one model, the Calatrava 6119R-001, that’s just a real beauty. But, you know, it costs more than my car, like way more.
So, I thought, why not try to make one myself? Yeah, I know, it sounds crazy. But I like a good challenge. I started by looking at a ton of pictures online, trying to figure out how this thing is put together. This Calatrava, it’s based on some old watch called the Reference 96, and it has loads of tiny parts inside, like 164 of them. It’s also a manual winding watch, which means I gotta wind it myself. I had to gather some basic watchmaking tools. Nothing fancy, just enough to take apart some old watches I had lying around and put them back together.
First, I took apart a couple of cheap watches to get the hang of it. You wouldn’t believe how many tiny screws there are in these things! Then, I started working on the case. The real Calatrava is made of rose gold, but I settled for some stainless steel. I shaped it, polished it, and tried to get that “Clous de Paris” thing on it, you know, that textured pattern on the bezel. It wasn’t perfect, but it looked pretty good to me. This Patek Philippe Calatrava 6119R-001 is bigger than the old ones, they say 39mm, so I made sure mine was around that size too.
- Figuring out the movement: This was the hardest part. I couldn’t afford a real Patek movement, so I found a decent one from another watch. I had to modify it a bit to fit the case, but eventually, I got it working.
- Making the dial and hands: I printed out a picture of the Calatrava dial and stuck it on a thin piece of metal. Then, I carefully cut out the hands from another piece of metal and painted them.
- Putting it all together: This was like assembling a tiny puzzle. I carefully placed the movement in the case, attached the dial and hands, and closed it all up.
Honestly, this project took me way longer than I expected. There were times when I wanted to give up, especially when I dropped those tiny screws and had to look for them on the floor for hours.
The Final Result
So, how did it turn out? Well, it’s not a real Patek Philippe, that’s for sure. I ended up spending a lot less than a hundred grand. It doesn’t have all the fancy stuff inside, but it ticks, and it tells the time. Plus, it’s got that classic Calatrava look, which is what I was going for. But I’m pretty darn proud of it. It’s got the look, the feel, and it’s a great conversation starter. Plus, I learned a ton about watches along the way. Would I do it again? Maybe, maybe not. It was a fun ride, though.
And you know what? Every time I look at it, I think, “Yeah, I made that.” And that’s a pretty good feeling.
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