So, I got this itch to mess around with a fancy watch, you know, one of those Patek Philippe ones. I decided to hit up the official store. That’s right, the big one, the flagship store.
I was looking at the Calatrava 5088/100P-001 model. It is a real looker, all shiny and stuff. I wanted to see if I could remake it, like a little project.
First thing I did was walk into that store. Man, it was fancy. Salespeople everywhere, all dressed up and lookin’ important. I walked around, pretending like I belonged there, checking out all the watches.
- I spent a good chunk of time staring at that Calatrava 5088/100P-001. Took a bunch of pictures with my phone, trying to get all the angles. The security guard gave me a few funny looks, but hey, I was on a mission.
- Then, I started asking questions. Lots of questions. About the materials, the little doohickeys inside, how it all worked. The salesperson was pretty helpful, though I think they were starting to get a little annoyed with me.
After that, I went home and started digging around on the internet. Found some forums, some articles, anything I could get my hands on about this watch. There are people online selling these. I saw this with my own eyes. I even found some videos of people taking them apart. It was like a treasure hunt, piecing all this information together.
Then came the fun part – trying to recreate it. Let me tell you, it was a mess. I bought a bunch of tools, some cheap watch parts, and just started tinkering. There were springs flying everywhere, tiny screws rolling under the table, the whole nine yards.
My Workbench looked like a war zone
I broke a few things, got frustrated more times than I can count, but I kept at it. It was like a puzzle, a really, really complicated puzzle.
Slowly but surely, I started making progress. I managed to get a basic shape going, something that kinda resembled the Calatrava 5088/100P-001. It wasn’t perfect, not by a long shot, but it was something.
I even managed to get some hands on it, these hands that look like, well, like them needles the doc uses. They call ’em “syringe hands.” And the face of the watch, it’s all textured, just like the real one. That part was tricky, but I think I did alright.
It took me weeks, maybe even months, but I finally ended up with something that looked like a watch. A cheap, kinda messed up watch, but still, a watch. It didn’t really tell time, and it fell apart if you looked at it too hard, but I made it. I remade a Patek Philippe, well, sort of. It was a fun ride, and I learned a lot along the way. Maybe next time I’ll try a different model, or maybe I’ll just stick to wearing regular watches. Who knows?
If you got the money and you want a fancy watch, this might be just the ticket. You know. It’s shiny, it’s small.
I learned a lot about watches, about patience, and about how much I enjoy taking things apart and (sometimes) putting them back together. It was a good experience, even if my fake Patek Philippe looked like it went through a war.
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