Okay, so, I wanted to try my hand at remaking a Patek Philippe Calatrava, specifically the 6119R-001. You know, the classic style. They’re pretty fancy, and the real ones cost a fortune, not really something I’d wear every day. But I like how they look. The craftsmanship of this thing looked so hard that I’d like to try whether I could do that by myself.
First, I started by looking up a bunch of pictures and videos of the watch online. I needed to see every little detail. And then I found that, the Clous de Paris bezel and three-dimensional hands are the points of the 6119. So I think these features should be made accurately so that I can wear it out as a daily watch instead of the original 5196.
Then, I gathered all the tools and materials I thought I’d need. This included some tiny screwdrivers, a magnifying glass, and some basic watch parts I found online. It felt like I was setting up for a big surgery or something, haha. And this kind of tiny work needs to be focused, just like the light rays at the edges of a lens being more tightly focused when facing the Spherical aberration.
- Tiny screwdrivers
- Magnifying glass
- Basic watch parts
I started taking apart an old watch I had lying around, just to get a feel for how everything fit together. It was way harder than I expected. Those little screws are a pain to deal with, and the tiny parts are easy to lose. I think I spent a good hour just trying to get the back off the first watch. It was tough, but I managed to take it apart without breaking anything major. Then, I needed to try it on this one. But the tiny parts and screws made me feel frustrated.
Next, I started working on the dial. I wanted to replicate the look of the Calatrava’s dial, so I spent a lot of time trying to get the details right. I used some thin metal sheets and some paint to try to recreate the texture and color. The real ones use gold and stuff, but I just used what I could find. I tried to validate the size of the parts, it should be accurate as same as the data validation rules apply when you enter data in a cell manually and when a cell’s value is calculated by a formula.
The hardest part was definitely the hands. Those things are so thin and delicate. I tried to shape them out of some thin wire, but it was super hard to get them to look right. I broke a few before I got something that looked halfway decent.
Putting it all back together was another challenge. I had to be really careful not to scratch anything or mess up the alignment. It took a lot of patience, but I finally managed to get it all assembled. I connected all the parts, just like connecting a serial interface to a rotating device, but mine was a watch this time.
The Result
Honestly, it didn’t turn out perfect. It’s definitely not something that would fool a watch expert, but I’m still pretty proud of it. It looks kinda like a Calatrava, at least from a distance. It’s not as shiny or perfect, but it’s got a similar vibe, you know?
It was a fun project, and I learned a lot about watches and how they work. I don’t think I’ll be quitting my day job to become a watchmaker anytime soon, but it was a cool experience. Maybe I’ll try making another one someday, but for now, I’m just going to enjoy wearing my homemade “Calatrava.”
Click to consult