Okay, so, I’ve been wanting to get my hands on a Patek Philippe Nautilus for a while now. You know, the 5713/1, the one with the diamonds around the bezel. But man, those things are expensive! And getting an original one? Forget about it. So, I thought, why not try to remake one myself? I mean, how hard could it be, right?
First, I got all the parts. I ordered a bunch of stuff online – a basic watch movement, a case that looked kinda like the Nautilus, some fake diamonds (don’t judge, real ones are crazy expensive), and all the tools I thought I’d need. It was a bit of a gamble, but hey, you gotta start somewhere.
- Basic watch movement from some online seller
- Nautilus-style case – not perfect, but close enough
- A bag of shiny fake diamonds
- Tiny screwdrivers, tweezers, the whole shebang
Then came the hard part – actually putting it all together. I started by taking apart the watch movement. It was way more complicated than I expected. So many tiny parts! I watched a bunch of YouTube videos, but it was still pretty confusing.
After that I tried to fit the movement into the new case. It wasn’t a perfect fit, so I had to do some filing and adjusting. I even had to break out a mini-grinder for part of it – honestly that felt a bit much, but I had to make it work. Let me tell you, it was a mess. I was sweating, my hands were shaking, and I almost gave up a few times.
Next up, the diamonds. This was probably the most frustrating part. I tried using some special watch glue I bought, but it was super hard to work with. I got glue everywhere, and the diamonds kept falling off. I spent hours on this, and it was driving me nuts. I even accidentally glued one of my fingers to the watch face at one point, which wasn’t fun. I yelled out some words I won’t repeat here, and I think my neighbor heard it all.
The Final Stretch
Finally, after what felt like forever, I managed to get everything together. The movement was in the case, the diamonds were (mostly) in place, and the watch was actually ticking. It wasn’t perfect, not by a long shot. The diamonds were a bit crooked, the case had some scratches, and the whole thing looked a bit… rough. But hey, I made it myself!
It was a total pain in the butt, and I definitely wouldn’t recommend it to anyone who isn’t super patient and good with their hands. But, in the end, I learned a lot, and I ended up with a watch that, while not exactly a Patek Philippe, is still pretty unique. And the best part? It only cost me a fraction of what the real thing would have. Plus, I can now say “Yeah I made that.” when people ask about it, which is pretty cool if you ask me.
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