Okay, so, I’ve been messing around with watches for a while now, and I’ve always wanted to try my hand at remaking something really fancy. So I thought, why not try remaking that super classy Patek Philippe Gondolo 7042/100G-010? It’s a real looker, you know, with all those shiny diamonds and that elegant vibe. I finally decided, you know what, let’s do this!
First things first, I gathered all my tools and materials. I’m talking about the tiny screwdrivers, the tweezers, some polishing cloths, and of course, a good quality watch movement that wouldn’t break the bank but was still pretty reliable. I found a bunch of reference images of the Gondolo online, printed them out, and stuck them up around my workspace. It was like my little mission control, but for making a watch.
I started with the case. Now, I didn’t have any fancy white gold lying around, so I opted for a decent stainless steel case that had a similar shape. I spent hours just polishing the thing to get it as shiny as I could. Then came the tricky part – the diamonds. Obviously, I wasn’t using real diamonds, but I found some pretty good cubic zirconia that would do the trick. Setting those little stones was a real pain, let me tell you. I used a tiny bit of glue and a whole lot of patience to get them all in place around the bezel, trying to mimic the pattern on the original.
- Polishing the case was a marathon, not a sprint.
- Finding good fake diamonds was easier than I thought, but setting them… ugh.
- Matching the original diamond pattern? That was a whole other level of tough.
Next up was the dial. I managed to find a plain white dial that was the right size, but it was, well, plain. The Gondolo has this beautiful guilloché pattern, and I tried my best to replicate it using some simple engraving tools. It wasn’t perfect, but it gave the dial some texture and that fancy look I was going for. Painted the numerals by hand, which was nerve-wracking, but they turned out okay-ish.
Putting the whole thing together was like assembling a really complicated puzzle. The movement fit into the case, but getting the hands attached and aligned properly took a few tries. I probably took it apart and put it back together like five times before I was happy with it.
The Result
Finally, after all the hard work, my version of the Patek Philippe Gondolo 7042/100G-010 was complete! It looks amazing, and I’m really proud of how it turned out. It’s not an exact replica, of course. The materials are different, and my craftsmanship is nowhere near the level of Patek Philippe’s master watchmakers. But, it’s got that same elegant vibe, and it’s something I made with my own two hands. It keeps time pretty well, too, which is a bonus!
In the end, my remake of the Patek Philippe Gondolo 7042/100G-010 wasn’t perfect, but it was mine. It looked pretty good, kept time, and was a blast to make. Would I do it again? Maybe! It was a ton of work, but a really fun challenge. Plus, now I have a cool, one-of-a-kind watch that I can show off.
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