Alright, let’s dive into this project I’ve been messing around with. I’ve been trying to remake that fancy Patek Philippe Calatrava 6119R-001. You know, the one with the cool guilloched hobnail pattern, also known as Clous de Paris? Yeah, that’s the one. It’s a pretty slick watch, and I thought, “Why not give it a shot?”
So, I started by getting a good look at the watch. This isn’t some tiny, old-school piece. It’s a modern watch, a bit bigger, with a 39mm diameter. The lugs are nicely done, and it has these applied pointed baton indexes that look sharp. I spent a good chunk of time just studying pictures and any info I could find online.
- First off, measurements. This thing is 39mm wide and about 8.08mm thick. Not too chunky, not too slim. And it’s water-resistant up to 30 meters, which is neat.
- Then there’s the case back. It’s got a sapphire crystal, so you can see all the inner workings. Pretty cool, right?
Next, I dug into the guts of the watch. The movement, or the engine of the watch, is also a decent size at 31mm in diameter and only 2.55mm thick. It’s made up of 164 parts. I tried to sketch out each little piece, trying to get a feel for how they all fit together. It’s like a tiny, intricate puzzle. And get this, it has a power reserve of at least 31 hours, I think the website says 65, but I couldn’t make it past 31 hours. I mean, that’s like it keeps ticking for over a day without needing to be wound. Amazing!
The toughest part was trying to replicate that hobnail pattern on the bezel. It’s super detailed and precise. I tried a few different methods, experimenting with different tools and materials. It was a lot of trial and error, let me tell you. But I finally got something that looked somewhat similar. It’s not perfect, but hey, I’m pretty proud of it.
Putting it all together was another challenge. I had all these tiny parts, and I had to be super careful not to lose or damage any of them. It was like building a ship in a bottle, but way smaller and way more frustrating. But after a lot of patience and a few close calls, I finally had something that resembled the Patek Philippe Calatrava 6119R-001.
In the end, it was a fun project. It’s not an exact replica, of course. I don’t have the same tools or materials as Patek Philippe. But it was a great learning experience. I learned a lot about watchmaking, and I got to exercise my creativity and problem-solving skills. Would I do it again? Maybe. It was a lot of work, but it was also pretty rewarding to see the finished product, even if it wasn’t quite up to Patek Philippe standards. At least, I can proudly tell my friends that I remade it all by myself!
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