Okay, so I’ve always been a bit of a watch fanatic. Not like a super-rich collector or anything, just someone who appreciates a good timepiece. And the Patek Philippe watches? Forget about it – they’re like the holy grail. I was browsing the Patek Philippe official flagship store online the other day and stumbled upon this beauty – the Gondolo 7042/100G-010. Man, that thing is gorgeous, but way, way out of my price range.
Then, a crazy idea hit me: what if I tried to remake it? I’ve always been pretty handy, and I figured, why not give it a shot? So, I started by researching everything I could about this watch. It’s called the Gondolo 7042/100G-010, which, yeah, is a mouthful. Turns out, this Gondolo line is named after some fancy retailer in Rio, Gondolo & Labouriau, that Patek Philippe was buddy-buddy with back in the day.
- Gathered all the images and information I could find online about the watch.
- Looked for some affordable materials that could mimic the look of the 18k white gold case and the diamonds. Found some decent stainless steel and some cubic zirconia that looked pretty convincing.
- Watched a bunch of videos on watchmaking, just to get a basic idea of how these things are put together.
- Then, I carefully examined this Gondolo, which is a 31 x 34.8 mm mechanical manually wound movement watch, and then started to take it apart and study each part carefully.
The movement was the trickiest part. I definitely couldn’t replicate Patek’s craftsmanship there, but I found a cheap quartz movement online that fit the bill. It’s not the same, but hey, it tells the time. I got my hands dirty, disassembled the watch I bought, and patiently followed the watchmaker’s steps to replace the movement. I know, I know, purists would scoff, but I’m pretty proud of my little franken-watch!
It took me a few weeks, working on and off in my spare time. Cutting the case, setting the “diamonds”, assembling the whole thing – it was a real labor of love. There were definitely moments where I almost threw in the towel. Like when I accidentally scratched the case and had to start over. Or when I dropped one of the tiny screws and spent hours looking for it. Then I spent a whole night polishing the watch case and adjusting the strap to fit my wrist perfectly.
The Final Result
But you know what? It actually turned out pretty darn good! It’s not a Patek, of course, but it looks similar enough to satisfy my craving. And the feeling of wearing something I made with my own two hands? Priceless. Plus, now I have a conversation starter on my wrist. Maybe I’ll even fool a few people from a distance! Haha, just kidding… unless?
I learned a lot, made some mistakes, and ended up with a watch that I think is pretty cool. Would I do it again? Maybe. It was a fun challenge, and who knows, maybe I’ll try to tackle another model someday. But for now, I’m just going to enjoy my very own, hand-made homage to the Patek Philippe Gondolo 7042/100G-010, and cherish the story behind it.
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