Okay, so, I’ve been itching to get my hands dirty with a new project, and what better than to remake a classic, right? I decided to go for the Patek Philippe Calatrava 6119R-001. That’s the rose gold one with the silver dial, just to be clear. Now, I’m no watchmaker, but I love a good challenge, and this seemed like a fun one to tackle.
First things first, I started by gathering all the info I could find about this beauty. It’s a 39mm manual winding watch with an 18K rose gold case and that beautiful silvery grained dial. I looked up a ton of pictures, read some stuff online, and got a good feel for what I was getting into. It’s got this hobnail pattern around the bezel, called Clous de Paris, which looked tricky but awesome.
Next, I had to find the parts. I’m not making a real one, just something that looks the part, so I wasn’t looking for genuine Patek parts. I started hunting around online for similar-looking movements, cases, and dials. It took a while, but I managed to find some pieces that fit the bill. I found a hand-wound movement that was the right size and a rose gold-colored case that was pretty close to the original.
- Finding the Movement: This was the first hurdle. It had to be a hand-wound movement, small enough to fit the 39mm case.
- Sourcing the Case: I needed an 18K rose gold-colored case. I looked at a bunch of different suppliers and finally found one that had the right look and feel.
- The Dial: This was the tricky part. I needed a silver dial with that grained texture. It wasn’t easy, but I found a decent replica.
- The Hands: Small seconds hand, had to be just right.
- The Strap: I didn’t focus too much on this, just grabbed a standard leather strap for now.
Once I had all the parts, it was time to put it all together. I started with the movement. I carefully placed it into the case, making sure it was secure. Then came the dial, which I had to align perfectly. It has a small seconds hand, so that took some careful tweaking. The hands were next, and let me tell you, those things are tiny! It took a lot of patience and a steady hand, but I managed to get them on.
The Clous de Paris, or hobnail pattern, was a whole other challenge. I ended up using a tiny tool to carefully create the pattern on a separate piece of metal and then attached it to the bezel. It’s not perfect, but it gives the right effect. It is only 8.08mm thick, I made it a little thicker than that because of my lack of skills.
Finally, I put the case back on and admired my work. It’s not a perfect replica, but it’s pretty darn close for a DIY project. It’s got the look and feel of the real deal, and I’m pretty proud of how it turned out. I slapped on a leather strap I had lying around, and boom, I had my own “Patek Philippe Calatrava 6119R-001.”
Final touches
I wore it around for a few days, just to see how it felt. It’s a bit lighter than the real one, but it keeps time pretty well. Plus, it’s a great conversation starter. People keep asking me about it, and I get to tell them the whole story of how I made it.
So, there you have it. My adventure in remaking a Patek Philippe. It was a fun project, and I learned a lot along the way. Maybe I’ll tackle another classic next, who knows?
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