Okay, folks, gather ’round. I’ve got a story for ya. It’s about the time I tried to remake a Patek Philippe watch. Yeah, you heard that right. A Patek Philippe. Specifically, the Gondolo 7042/100R-010. Now, before you start thinking I’ve lost my marbles, just hear me out.
It all started when I stumbled upon this beauty online. The Gondolo 7042/100R-010, it’s not just a watch, it’s like a piece of jewelry. I mean, it’s made of 18K red gold, has a gold bracelet, and the dial? Covered in diamonds. I was mesmerized, I saw it and I just thought, “Wow, that’s a work of art.” So, naturally, the next thought was, “I wonder if I can make something like that?”
The First Steps
First things first, I started gathering materials. I found some decent quality stainless steel, ’cause let’s be real, I’m not about to use real gold here. Then, I got some cubic zirconia to mimic those diamonds. I spent hours, days, just studying the design of the watch. Looking at pictures, reading descriptions, trying to understand how it was all put together.
- Finding the parts: This was tricky. I spent days browsing through online stores, trying to find parts that looked like the ones on the original watch.
- Assembling: This was the hardest part. I used my dad’s old watch tools. I made so many mistakes, got frustrated more times than I can count, but I kept going.
- The dial: I tried to recreate the diamond-studded dial using some adhesive and tiny cubic zirconia stones. It was a pain, but I got there eventually.
Putting It All Together
The actual assembly? That was a whole different beast. I got my hands on some basic watchmaking tools. I felt like a surgeon, carefully putting together tiny pieces. Of course, I messed up a bunch of times. Bent a few hands, scratched a few cases. But I kept at it. I was determined to make this happen. Each time I messed up, I learned something new. I got better each time. It was like a puzzle, a very frustrating, very tiny puzzle.
Now, the dial was a real challenge. I decided to use tiny rhinestones to mimic the diamonds. Let me tell you, gluing those tiny things onto a watch dial? It’s not for the faint of heart. My fingers felt huge, and my eyes definitely got a workout. But eventually, after many, many tries, I managed to get something that looked somewhat presentable.
The End Result
After weeks of work, I finally had something that resembled a watch. It wasn’t perfect, not by a long shot. But it was mine. It was a testament to my stubbornness, my willingness to try something completely out of my comfort zone. Did it look like the real Gondolo 7042/100R-010? I’m not gonna lie, it wasn’t exactly a masterpiece. But, you know what? I made it. Me. With my own two hands. And that’s something.
So, that’s my story of remaking the Patek Philippe Gondolo 7042/100R-010. It was a wild ride, full of frustrations and small victories. Would I do it again? Probably not. But I’m glad I did it once. It taught me a lot about patience, about the value of practice, and about the beauty of a well-crafted timepiece. I did it, it was a fun project, and I’m pretty proud of myself. And hey, I got a pretty cool watch out of it!
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