So, I’ve been eyeing the Patek Philippe Nautilus 5711 for a while now. You know, the one that’s always out of stock everywhere? Yeah, that one. Decided to take matters into my own hands and try to remake one myself. It wasn’t easy, let me tell you.
First, I spent hours just looking at pictures and videos online. Trying to figure out how this thing is put together. I mean, Patek Philippe has been making watches since, like, the 1800s, so they know what they’re doing. Me? Not so much. But I was determined.
- Gathered all the tools I thought I’d need. Screwdrivers, tweezers, a magnifying glass – the whole nine yards. Felt like a real watchmaker for a second there.
- Ordered some parts online. Some were easy to find, some, not so much. Let’s just say my search history was full of “watch bezel,” “watch hands,” and “what the heck is a movement?”
- Then came the hard part: assembling everything. It was like putting together a tiny, very expensive puzzle. With parts that could get lost if you breathed on them wrong.
I messed up a few times. Okay, more than a few. There were moments I wanted to just throw the whole thing in the trash. But I kept going. Watched more videos, read more articles, and slowly, very slowly, it started to come together.
After a few weeks of tinkering, I finally had something that resembled a watch. It wasn’t perfect, far from it. But it was mine. I wore it around the house, feeling a sense of accomplishment. I did this. I actually made a watch. This is the best thing I’ve ever done.
Would I recommend this to anyone else? Probably not. It’s a pain in the ass, to be honest. But if you’re crazy enough, and you have a lot of patience and maybe a bit too much time on your hands, it’s definitely a journey. I can feel this is the beginning of the collection.
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