Hey everyone, so I’ve been getting into watches lately. Not just any old watches, but the really fancy, expensive kind. I’m not made of money, so buying the real deal is out of the question. But I thought, hey, why not try to remake one? So, that’s what I did. I decided to take on the Patek Philippe Gondolo 7042/100G-010. Yeah, it’s a mouthful, but it’s a real beauty.
First, I had to figure out where to even start. I mean, I couldn’t just walk into a Patek Philippe store and ask for parts, right? So, I hit the internet, and after a lot of searching, I found some online stores that sell remake parts. Apparently, there’s a whole market for this kind of thing. Who knew?
I looked at a bunch of different places, comparing prices and what they had to offer. It was kind of overwhelming, to be honest. Some places had better selections than others, and some seemed a little sketchy. Finally, I settled on a place that seemed reputable, had good reviews, and had most of the parts I needed.
- Finding the Right Parts: This was a real challenge. The Gondolo 7042/100G-010 has a lot of intricate details, like that diamond-paved dial. Finding a remake dial that looked decent was tough.
- The Case: The case is 18K white gold, which, of course, I couldn’t afford. I found a pretty good stainless steel substitute that had a similar shape and size (31 x 34.8 mm, if you’re curious).
- Putting it all Together: Let me tell you, this was the hardest part. I’m not exactly a watchmaker, so there was a lot of trial and error. I watched a ton of videos online and read through some forums to get an idea of what I was doing.
It took a few weeks, and there were definitely some frustrating moments, but I finally managed to put it all together. And you know what? It actually looks pretty good! It’s not perfect, of course, but it’s definitely recognizable as a Gondolo. It even keeps time pretty well, which is a bonus.
I’m really proud of how it turned out. It was a fun project, and I learned a lot about watches in the process. Plus, now I have a cool-looking watch that didn’t cost me a fortune. I may not be wearing a real Patek, but I can’t lie it feels nice. Maybe I’ll try another model next. We’ll see!
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