Alright, folks, gather ’round, let me tell you about this little project I’ve been messing with. I’ve always been a fan of fancy watches, and Patek Philippe? Man, those are top-notch. So, I thought, why not try my hand at making something similar? I decided to remake the Patek Philippe Calatrava 5088/100P-001. It’s a classic style, you know, the kind that never gets old.
First off, I did some digging. Needed to see what I was up against. I found out this beauty’s got a 38 mm platinum case, pretty slim at 8.3 mm thick. And the dial? Hand-engraved with black enamel. Looks super classy. I won’t lie, I got a bit nervous, because it’s going to be a challenge.
Now, I needed to gather my materials. I couldn’t get my hands on real platinum, obviously, I am not a millionaire, haha. So, I opted for a good quality stainless steel instead. Found a nice piece that I could work with, and started shaping it into that 38 mm case. Took a lot of time, a lot of careful filing and polishing, but I got there.
The movement was another beast. The original uses this ultra-thin self-winding Calibre 240. It’s got a 48-hour power reserve. I obviously couldn’t replicate that exactly, so I went for a decent automatic movement I found. It’s not the same, but it does the job, and it keeps time pretty well. I bought it from a friend who also loves collecting watches, which saved me some money.
The Dial
This was the hardest part, hands down. The original’s got that hand-engraved dial, with black enamel. I’m no expert engraver, but I gave it my best shot. I got a piece of metal similar to what I used for the case and tried different engraving ways. It looked messy at the beginning. I did a lot of testing and practicing. Finally, it looked kind of right. After that I applied black enamel paint, I tried many times to make sure the paint is even.
The Strap
I found a decent black leather strap that fits the look I’m going for, classic and simple, and it matched the dial nicely. I’m not going to hand-stitch a strap, no way. I found a decent one online that fit the bill.
Putting It All Together
This was the moment of truth. I carefully assembled all the parts, the case, the movement, the dial, the hands, and the strap. It was a bit nerve-wracking, I didn’t want to mess anything up after all that work. I did mess up once, but eventually I assembled it successfully.
And there you have it, my homemade version of the Patek Philippe Calatrava 5088/100P-001. It’s not perfect, not by a long shot, but it’s mine. It’s a reminder that you can create something cool if you put your mind to it. Now, it sits on my desk, ticking away. It’s not a Patek, but it’s a piece of me, and that’s pretty darn special.
So, what do you guys think? Any of you ever tried to remake something fancy like this? Let me know in the comments, I’d love to hear about it!
- Materials I Used:
- Stainless steel for the case
- Automatic movement (not a Calibre 240, sadly)
- Metal piece for the dial
- Black enamel paint
- Black leather strap
It was a heck of a ride, but I’m glad I did it. Maybe I’ll try another watch project in the future. Any suggestions?
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