Okay, so I recently got it into my head that I wanted to try and remake a Patek Philippe watch, specifically the Calatrava 5088/100P-001. You know, that super fancy one with the engraved dial? Yeah, that one. I saw it on the official flagship store and thought, “Hey, I can do that!” How hard could it be, right? Famous last words, folks.
First, I started digging around for any info I could find on this bad boy. Turns out, this watch is pretty high-end. I mean, we’re talking a retail price of over 100 grand! On the secondhand market, it’s still up there, like over 80 thousand. I thought “Wow!”. Apparently, it’s a hot commodity and holds its value like a champ. It’s all because of that Patek Philippe name and the crazy detailed work they put into it.
I learned that the 5088/100P is still in production as of September 2024, which is cool. And there are tons of different Calatrava models out there, some of them being super collectible. The one I was after has a 38mm platinum case, about 8.3mm thick, with a hand-engraved black enamel dial. The movement is a Calibre 240 automatic, which supposedly runs for about 48 hours on a full wind. It is really a piece of art.
So, armed with this knowledge, I decided to make a plan. I broke down the whole process into smaller steps. First, I needed to get my hands on some materials. Platinum was way out of my budget, so I settled for some less expensive metals for practice. I also needed to find enamel for the dial, which was a whole other adventure. I ended up ordering a bunch of different types to experiment with.
Next up was figuring out the engraving. Man, this was tough. I watched countless videos of people doing this kind of detailed work, and it looked incredibly hard. I started with some basic tools and scrap metal, just trying to get a feel for it. Let’s just say my first attempts were, uh, not great. But I kept at it, practicing every day, slowly getting a little better each time.
The dial was another beast altogether. Getting that deep black enamel to look smooth and even was a real pain. I tried so many different techniques, messing up more times than I can count. Eventually, I started to get the hang of it, though it still wasn’t perfect.
Putting it all together was the final challenge. I had all these little pieces that I’d been working on separately, and now I had to make them fit together like a real watch. I spent hours fiddling with tiny screws and gears, trying to get everything aligned just right.
- Gather materials: I opted for cheaper metals instead of platinum and ordered various types of enamel.
- Learn engraving: I watched videos and practiced on scrap metal with basic tools.
- Master the enamel dial: I experimented with different techniques to achieve a smooth finish.
- Assemble the watch: I carefully put all the pieces together, adjusting and aligning them.
After weeks of work, I finally finished my “masterpiece.” It wasn’t anywhere near the quality of a real Patek Philippe, but I was still pretty proud of it. I learned a ton about watchmaking, and I definitely have a newfound respect for the people who do this for a living. Would I do it again? Probably not. But hey, it was a fun experiment while it lasted!
All in all, this little project taught me a lot. It was way harder than I expected, but it was also super rewarding to see it all come together in the end. Even though my version isn’t going to be selling for thousands anytime soon, I still think it’s pretty cool. And who knows, maybe one day I’ll be good enough to make something that actually looks like the real deal!
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