Man, I’ve always been fascinated by fancy watches. Recently, I got this crazy idea to try and remake a Patek Philippe Gondolo 7041R-001, just like the one in their official flagship store. I know, I know, it sounds nuts, but I wanted to see if I could even get close to making something like it.
So, where do I even start, right? First thing I did was spend hours online looking at every picture and video of the Gondolo 7041R-001 I could find. This watch is a real beauty – it’s got this 18k rose gold rectangular case, about 30.0 x 33.8 mm. And the inner bezel is set with diamonds, which made me sweat a little thinking about how I’d replicate that. The dial is silver with these classic Roman numeral hour markers, and there’s a small seconds sub-dial at 6 o’clock. Classy stuff.
Next up, I had to figure out the materials. I obviously couldn’t afford real 18k rose gold, so I had to find some alternatives. For the case, I found some rose gold-plated material that looked pretty decent. I spent hours shaping and polishing the case, trying to get that rectangular shape just right. I won’t lie, it was tough.
- Sourcing the Movement: This was probably the biggest headache. The Gondolo uses a Patek Philippe Calibre 215 PS hand-winding movement. I searched everywhere but couldn’t find anything even close to it. Finally, I settled for a cheap mechanical movement I found online. It wasn’t perfect, but it would have to do.
- The Diamond Bezel Dilemma: Let’s be real, I wasn’t about to use real diamonds. So, I found these tiny, shiny crystals and spent what felt like forever gluing them around the inner bezel. The result was surprisingly not bad! They sparkled pretty nicely, though obviously not as nice as the real deal.
- Crafting the Dial: I printed out a high-res image of the Gondolo’s dial and used it as a template. I found some silvery paper that kind of matched the original and carefully cut out the Roman numerals and the sub-dial. Sticking them onto the watch face was nerve-wracking, but I managed to pull it off without messing it up too much.
- Assembling Everything: Putting all the pieces together was the most satisfying part. I carefully placed the movement inside the case, attached the dial, and fixed the hands. The strap I used was a simple black leather one I had lying around. It wasn’t the fancy alligator leather Patek uses, but it did the job.
After all that work, I finally had my homemade version of the Patek Philippe Gondolo 7041R-001. Did it look exactly like the original? Of course not. But honestly, I was pretty proud of what I managed to put together. It was a fun, challenging project, and I learned a ton about watchmaking along the way. Would I wear it out? Probably not. But it’s a cool little thing to have, and it reminds me that sometimes, it’s fun to try and make something even if it seems impossible at first.
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