Hey everyone, it’s your old pal back again with another project. This time, I tried my hand at remaking a Patek Philippe Calatrava 6119R-001. Yeah, that fancy watch with the hobnail pattern, also called “Clous de Paris” I think. This one’s got a slightly bigger face than the usual ones. Let me tell you, it was a journey.
First off, I started by gathering all the info I could find. I looked everywhere for details on the 6119R. I saw that some folks were saying it came out in 2022. And it’s definitely a luxury item with a big price tag. I saw that it is not really practical for everyday wear, but I just liked the look of it. Some sources said that the wait time for an original one could be as long as 12 months! I couldn’t wait that long, so I decided to make my own.
Then came the tricky part – actually making the thing. I studied a lot of pictures of that “Clous de Paris” bezel. It’s super detailed, with these tiny little pyramid shapes all over it. I tried to copy that with the tools I had. It wasn’t easy, let me tell you. Lots of squinting and trying to get those tiny details right.
I also spent a good chunk of time working on the hands. The original watch has these really cool three-dimensional hands, and I wanted to make sure mine looked just as good. This involved a lot of careful shaping and filing. I also did some research on what kind of materials Patek Philippe uses, and tried to find similar stuff that wouldn’t break the bank.
After many, many hours of work, I finally finished it. It’s not a perfect replica, of course, but I’m pretty proud of how it turned out. It definitely has that bold look of the original 6119R, with the textured bezel and those fancy hands. I think it’s something you can wear all day. It’s not just a show piece.
So there you have it, my adventure in remaking a Patek Philippe Calatrava. It was a challenging project, but a whole lot of fun. Let me know what you guys think, and maybe I’ll see you in the next one!
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