So, I’ve been obsessed with watches lately, and I decided to take on a little project: remaking the Patek Philippe Calatrava 6119R-001. Yeah, I know, it’s a pretty ambitious one, but I was up for the challenge. I started by gathering all the info I could find about this watch. This was no walk in the park. I spent hours on the web, browsing through forums, reading articles and watching videos.
First off, I needed to figure out the dimensions and stuff. From what I could find, this bad boy has a 39mm diameter and is about 8.08mm thick. Also it’s water-resistant up to 30 meters, and it’s got a sapphire crystal case back. Fancy, huh? I also noted down that the model is known as Calatrava, with a reference number 6119R-001. It’s got a silvery dial with rose gold numerals. Classy!
Next, I dove into the movement. This watch uses the Caliber 30-255 PS, which is a manual-winding movement. It’s got a diameter of 31mm and is only 2.55mm thick. Pretty slim for something that packs 164 parts. I also made a mental note that the power reserve is a minimum of 65 hours. That’s like almost three days! I tried to understand how all these little parts work together, but man, it’s complicated.
I decided to start with the case. I got myself some rose gold-like material. Using some basic tools, I tried shaping it into that 39mm circle. It was tough. I spent a whole weekend just trying to get the shape right. It wasn’t perfect, but it was close enough. I even tried to make it about 8mm thick, just like the original. I don’t have fancy machines, so it was all hand work.
- Gathering information about dimensions and specifications
- Studying the Caliber 30-255 PS movement
- Shaping the case from rose gold-like material
- Creating a silvery dial with rose gold numerals
Then came the dial. I found some silvery material and cut it to fit inside the case. I carefully marked where the numerals should go and used some rose gold paint to mimic the look of the original. It was painstaking work. I messed up a few times and had to start over. But after a few tries, I had something that looked decent. It wasn’t perfect, but I was proud of it. It took forever to dry, and I kept checking on it like a hawk.
Next up, the hands. I used some thin metal strips and carefully shaped them into the hour, minute, and second hands. This was super tricky because they’re so tiny. I used tweezers and a magnifying glass to get it right. After a lot of trial and error, I had a set of hands that looked okay. They were a bit wobbly, but they did the job. I had to redo the minute hand twice because I bent it the first time. Ugh.
Putting It All Together
Now for the hard part: putting it all together. I carefully placed the dial inside the case and then added the hands. I didn’t have a real watch movement, so I used a simple quartz movement I had lying around. It wasn’t the same, but it made the hands move, which was cool. I tried to fit it snugly, but it kept coming loose. Finally, I got it to stay put after a few tries.
Finally, I added a strap. I found a leather strap that looked similar to the one on the original watch. It was a bit too big, so I had to cut it down to size. I attached it to the case, and there it was: my very own homemade Patek Philippe Calatrava. It took me a couple of weeks, working on and off, to get it done. Most of the time was spent waiting for the paint to dry and redoing parts that I messed up.
It’s not perfect, and it doesn’t have all the fancy features of the real one, but I’m pretty proud of it. It was a fun project, and I learned a lot about watches along the way. Plus, it looks pretty cool on my wrist! I even showed it to my buddy who’s into watches, and he was impressed. He did point out a few flaws, but overall, he thought it was a decent effort. I might try another watch project in the future, but for now, I’m happy with this one.
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