Okay, so today I’m gonna share my little adventure with remaking a Patek Philippe Calatrava 5227J-001. You know, the fancy one? It all started when I saw this beauty in a PP boutique. Yellow gold, three hands, ivory dial – it was love at first sight. But, who am I kidding? I can’t afford the real deal.
So, I thought, why not try making a remake? I mean, how hard could it be? I started by looking up everything I could find about this watch. Turns out, it’s quite the popular piece. People were saying it’s a good investment, a status symbol, and all that jazz. But some also said it’s not really practical for everyday wear. Well, I wasn’t planning on wearing it to the grocery store, so I guess that’s fine.
I started gathering all the stuff I needed. I found this gold-looking case online. It wasn’t real gold, obviously, but it looked pretty darn close. Then I needed a dial. I managed to find one that had that cream-colored, antique-ish look. I felt like a real watchmaker, searching for all these parts.
Next up were the hands and the strap. The original watch has these fancy three-dimensional hands, and I wanted to get as close to that as possible. After hours of browsing, I found some that looked quite similar. I picked a nice leather strap that I found at my local watch shop. I felt like the right choice and it felt comfortable on my wrist.
Now came the tricky part – putting it all together. I’m not gonna lie, it was a bit of a struggle. I almost broke the dial twice, and those tiny hands were a real pain to work with. I used a small set of pliers to help keep the parts in place while I worked. But after a few frustrating hours and a couple of close calls, I finally managed to assemble the whole thing. I found the best way to place the hands was one at a time, starting with the hour, then the minutes, and finally the seconds hand.
The moment of truth came when I wound it up. I held my breath and… it worked! The hands were moving, and it was actually keeping time. It wasn’t perfect, of course. The finishing wasn’t as polished as the original, and the movement was definitely not as smooth. I did notice that the time was a few seconds behind after a couple of hours. But hey, it was my own handmade Patek Philippe Calatrava remake! It looked pretty good on my wrist, if I do say so myself.
My Takeaways
- It’s not as easy as it looks. Making a watch, even a simple one, requires a lot of patience and a steady hand.
- It’s surprisingly affordable. I spent way less than I thought I would. Of course, it’s not the same quality as the real thing, but it’s a fun project.
- It’s satisfying as hell. There’s something really cool about wearing a watch that you made yourself.
Would I do it again?
Probably not. It was a fun experiment, but it was also pretty time-consuming. But if you’re into watches and you’re looking for a unique project, give it a shot. Who knows, you might even end up with something that looks halfway decent.
And, to be honest, I wouldn’t recommend wearing it daily. It’s more of a “show off to your friends” kind of watch, which, I mean, isn’t a bad thing. It was a fun challenge, and I learned a lot. Just make sure you don’t have anything important to do that day, ’cause this will eat up your time! And I’m really happy with my final product!
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