Okay, so, I had this wild idea to remake a Patek Philippe watch. Not just any Patek Philippe, but the Gondolo 7042/100G-010. Yeah, that super fancy one with all the diamonds. I saw it and I thought, “I gotta try making that.”
Getting Started
First off, I had to really look at this watch. I mean, really study it. I grabbed a bunch of pictures, read some stuff about it online. Turns out, this Gondolo isn’t just a pretty face. It’s named after some famous watch retailer in Rio, Gondolo & Labouriau. Cool, huh? Anyway, I needed to get the feel of this watch, its shape, those diamonds, everything.
The Hard Part
Next, I tried to find similar materials. Now, I’m not using real diamonds, obviously. I found some pretty good-looking fake ones, though. The case was tricky. The Gondolo has this unique rectangular shape. I searched high and low and finally found a case that was kind of close. It wasn’t perfect, but hey, I’m not a professional watchmaker. Then I got a similar-looking dial, because that original one is something else, for sure.
Putting It All Together
This was the fun part. I carefully started placing the fake diamonds on the bezel, just like the real Gondolo. I used some strong glue and a pair of tweezers. Took forever, but it started to resemble the picture I was looking at. Then I set the dial and the hands. Let me tell you, those tiny watch hands are a pain to work with. But I managed it eventually.
The Final Look
- Faked the diamond setting around the bezel.
- Got a similar rectangular case.
- Found a dial that’s kind of like the original.
- Carefully placed the hands.
After weeks of messing around, I finally had my own version of the Patek Philippe Gondolo 7042/100G-010. It’s obviously not the real deal, and it doesn’t even tick, but it looks pretty cool on my desk. I showed it to a couple of friends, and they were impressed. One even asked if it was real! I laughed and told him the whole story.
So, yeah, that’s my little adventure of remaking a super fancy watch. It was fun, frustrating, and everything in between. Would I do it again? Maybe. But for now, I’m pretty happy with my little Gondolo replica sitting on my desk, right next to the photo of the original.
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