Alright, so, I’ve been wanting to get my hands on a fancy watch for a while now, you know, the kind that makes you feel like a million bucks? And I finally decided to just go for it and try to remake the Patek Philippe Gondolo 7042/100R-010. I saw this beauty on some website, and it was love at first sight. I mean, the official flagship store stuff.
Researching and Planning
First things first, I needed to know everything about this watch. So, I started digging around. I found some listings for it online, and let me tell you, it’s not cheap! I mean, I wasn’t looking for an actual one, but still, these things go for, like, $254 grand! Insane, right?
But anyway, I found a few websites that had good pictures and descriptions. This Gondolo 7042/100R-010, it’s like a piece of jewelry, seriously. It’s all 18K red gold, with a gold bracelet and everything. And the dial, oh man, it’s covered in diamonds! I figured I couldn’t do the diamonds, but I could at least try to get the shape and the gold part right.
Gathering Materials
Okay, so, I’m not exactly a watchmaker, but I’m pretty handy. I thought, “How hard could it be to make something that looks like this?” (Spoiler alert: pretty hard.) I went to the craft store and got some gold-colored polymer clay, some tiny beads that kind of looked like diamonds, and some basic watchmaking tools. I also got a cheap watch from a discount store to use for the internal parts because, let’s be honest, I wasn’t about to build a watch movement from scratch.
Crafting the Watch Case
I started with the clay. I rolled it out and tried to shape it like the Gondolo case. It’s kind of a rectangular shape with rounded edges. It took a few tries, but I finally got something that looked decent. I baked the clay according to the instructions, and it hardened up nicely. It wasn’t perfect, but it was a start.
Adding the Details
Next up, the “diamonds.” I used those tiny beads and tried to stick them onto the dial area of my clay case. Let me tell you, this was tedious! I used tweezers and a tiny bit of glue, and it took forever. It didn’t look exactly like the real Gondolo, but it had a bit of that sparkly effect.
Assembling the Watch
Now for the tricky part. I took apart that cheap watch I bought and carefully removed the movement. I had to make a few adjustments to my clay case to get it to fit, but eventually, I managed to get the movement in there. I also used the hands from the cheap watch, although they weren’t quite as fancy as the Gondolo’s.
The Strap
For the strap, I used some gold-colored faux leather I found online. I measured my wrist and cut the leather to size. Then, I used some jewelry clasps to make it into a bracelet. I had to make sure it was adjustable because I don’t want to be stuck with a watch that doesn’t fit.
The Final Result
So, after all that work, I finally had my homemade Patek Philippe Gondolo 7042/100R-010. Did it look exactly like the real thing? Of course not! But, it was a fun project, and I was pretty proud of myself for getting it done.
- Look and Feel: It definitely has that gold look, and the beads add a bit of sparkle. It’s not as heavy as a real gold watch, obviously, but it’s not too flimsy either.
- Functionality: It tells time! The cheap watch movement is actually pretty accurate.
- Overall Impression: I wouldn’t wear this to a fancy event or anything, but it’s a cool conversation piece. And it’s a reminder that sometimes, it’s fun to just try to make something, even if it’s not perfect.
Would I do it again? Maybe. It was a lot of work, but it was also a good learning experience. And who knows, maybe I’ll try to remake another fancy watch in the future. But next time, I might start with something a little less complicated!
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