Okay, so, I’ve been wanting to remake this Patek Philippe Gondolo 7042/100G-010, the one you see in their official flagship store, for a while now. It’s a real beauty, with that rectangular white gold case and all those diamonds.
First thing I did was get my hands on some decent 316L stainless steel. I mean, it’s not white gold, but it’s pretty darn good and way more affordable. You wouldn’t believe the price of white gold these days. It’s wild!
Then I started shaping the case. Now, the Gondolo isn’t just a simple rectangle. It’s got these gentle curves, you know? So I spent a good few days just filing and polishing, trying to get that shape just right. It was tough, let me tell you, my hands were sore!
- Measure and cut the stainless steel to roughly 31mm by 34.8mm.
- Use a small hammer and some shaping tools to get those curves.
- File, file, file…and then polish some more.
After that, I moved on to the bezel. The original has these baguette diamonds, which are gorgeous but, again, way out of my budget. So, I opted for some high-quality cubic zirconia. They still sparkle like crazy, trust me. Setting them was a whole other adventure. Tiny stones, big fingers…you get the picture. There were a few mishaps, and I might have invented a few new swear words, but eventually, I got them all in place.
The dial was a bit easier. I found a nice, bright white dial blank online and modified it to fit the case. I wanted to keep it simple, just like the original, so I didn’t do anything too fancy. I used some fine-tipped tools to carefully paint the hour markers and the Patek Philippe logo. It’s not perfect, but I’m pretty happy with how it turned out.
For the movement, I used a simple, reliable quartz movement I got online. I’m not a watchmaker, so messing with a mechanical movement was out of the question. It keeps time well, and that’s all that really matters, right?
Finally, I put it all together. Putting the movement in the case, attaching the dial, fixing the hands…it was like assembling a tiny, very expensive puzzle. But when I finally snapped the back of the case on, and I saw the finished product…man, it was satisfying. It took many weeks, a bunch of failed attempts, and many adjustments to make it.
The Final Result
It’s not an exact replica, of course. It doesn’t have the prestige, the brand value, or the hefty price tag of a real Patek Philippe. But it’s mine. I made it with my own two hands. And honestly, I think it looks pretty damn good. Every time I look at my wrist, I get a little sense of pride. Plus, I learned a ton about watchmaking along the way. Would I do it again? Maybe. It was a lot of work, but who knows, maybe I’ll try another model sometime. What do you guys think? Should I try to make another watch?
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