Okay, so, I gotta share this with y’all. I’ve been messing around with watches for a while now, and I’ve always had a thing for Patek Philippe. That Gondolo 7042/100G-010? Man, it’s a beauty. I finally decided to try my hand at remaking one, just for kicks, you know?
First, I spent a ton of time just staring at pictures of the real deal. I mean, hours. I wanted to get every little detail right, the curve of the case, the way the light hits the diamonds, all that stuff. Then, I started hunting for parts. This was a real pain, let me tell you. Finding parts that even come close to the quality of a real Patek is tough.
- I looked everywhere online for a decent case.
- Finally found one, it wasn’t perfect, but it was close enough.
- Then I found that the dial was a whole other story.
I ended up getting one custom-made, which was a bit of a gamble, but it turned out pretty good, thank goodness. The movement was the trickiest part. I didn’t want to use just any old movement, so I searched around for something that at least felt similar to the original. It took ages, but eventually, I found a used one that was in okay shape. Got it fixed up, and that was that.
Putting it all together was like, nerve-wracking, to be honest. My hands were shaking the whole time! But, slowly but surely, it started to look like a real watch. I polished the case, set the diamonds (which was a whole other nightmare), and carefully assembled everything. It was a real labor of love, or maybe obsession, haha.
When I finally finished, I just sat there, staring at it. It wasn’t perfect, obviously. There were a few tiny flaws here and there, but man, it was close. I mean, really close. It felt amazing to hold it in my hand, knowing I had made it myself.
It was a ton of work, but totally worth it.
I wear it all the time now, and I always get compliments on it. Most people can’t even tell it’s a remake. It’s not the real deal, but it’s my little piece of Patek, and I’m proud of it.
So, yeah, that’s my story. If you’re thinking about remaking a watch, I say go for it! Just be prepared to spend a lot of time, and maybe a little money, and don’t be afraid to make mistakes. It’s all part of the fun, right? But seriously it was pretty tough but fun all the way.
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