Today I’m gonna share my little adventure of remaking a Patek Philippe Gondolo 7041R-001. I’m not a pro, just a dude who loves tinkering with watches, so bear with me here.
Getting Started
First off, I got my hands on a Gondolo 7041R-001. It’s a pretty sweet watch with a rose gold case and a manual wind movement. It’s got that classic rectangular shape that’s just so classy.
I did some digging online. Found out these bad boys can go for around $20,000 to $30,000. And that’s used! These watches are no joke. They’ve been around for like 180 years, so they know what they’re doing.
Anyway, I carefully took the watch apart. I mean really carefully. These things are intricate, with all these tiny little gears and springs.
The Tricky Part
Now, Patek Philippe watches have these special hallmarks on the case-back. They show what the metal is, like “750” for 18k gold or “950” for platinum. That’s how you know it’s the real deal.
I wanted to replicate that, so I did a ton of research on how to mark metal like that. It’s not as easy as it looks. It took a lot of tries, a few mess-ups, but I finally got it looking pretty close.
Putting it Back Together
Once I had all the parts sorted, it was time to put this baby back together. This was the nerve-wracking part. One wrong move and you could mess up the whole thing.
- I started with the movement, that’s the heart of the watch. Got all those tiny gears meshing just right.
- Then the dial and hands. Lining those up perfectly took some serious patience.
- Finally, the case. Polished it up real nice, got it looking all shiny.
The Final Result
After all that work, I finally had my remade Gondolo 7041R-001. And you know what? It actually worked! It kept time, looked pretty darn good if I do say so myself. It’s not perfect, but I’m still proud of it.
It’s not a real Patek Philippe, but it’s my little tribute to their craftsmanship.
This whole thing was a real learning experience. It gave me a whole new appreciation for watchmakers and the work they do. It’s not just about telling time, it’s an art. And yeah, maybe I won’t be quitting my day job to become a watchmaker anytime soon, but it was a fun ride.
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