Okay, so, I’ve been working on this project, trying to remake the Patek Philippe Gondolo 7042/100G-010. Let me tell you, it’s been a ride. This isn’t my first rodeo with watches, but this Patek Philippe piece is something else. I got the idea a few months back, just browsing through some watch forums, and bam! The Gondolo 7042/100G-010 caught my eye.
First things first, I started digging into every bit of info I could find about this watch. You know, the usual specs, materials, and all that jazz. I found out it’s a manual winding, white gold beauty, with a reference number 7042/100G-010. The real ones are going for around $262,565! Crazy, right?
After getting all the details down, I got down to sketching. I sketched the rectangular case, the fluted bezel, and especially that diamond-paved dial. This watch has a 31mm by 34.8mm case, which is pretty unique. Patek Philippe calls them “form” watches. Fancy.
- Sourcing the materials was the next big step. I decided to go with 316L stainless steel for the case. It’s not white gold, but hey, it’s durable and looks pretty darn close.
- For the bezel, I managed to find a bidirectional rotatable ring that kinda mimics the original’s look.
- The dial was the trickiest part. I tried to recreate that diamond-paved look, which, let me tell you, is no easy feat.
Once I had all the parts, I started assembling the watch. It was like putting together a complex puzzle. Aligning the hands, setting the movement, and making sure everything was snug and secure took a lot of patience. I had to take breaks and come back to it, just to make sure I didn’t mess anything up.
The movement, of course, is not the same as the original. Patek Philippe movements are insane. They take like nine months to make, or even two years for the complex ones. But I found a decent manual winding movement that does the job, it can work well.
After a lot of tinkering and adjusting, I finally got it all together. I stepped back, looked at my remake, and thought, “Not bad, not bad at all.” It’s not perfect, and it’s definitely not a real Patek Philippe, but it captures the essence of the Gondolo 7042/100G-010. At least, I think so. And it cost me way less than $262,565 to make. More like 217 bucks for the materials and a whole lot of my time.
I wore it around for a few days, just to see how it felt. It’s comfortable, and it definitely gets some looks. People ask about it, and I get to tell the whole story of how I made it. It’s a good conversation starter, for sure.
So, that’s my journey of remaking the Patek Philippe Gondolo 7042/100G-010. It was a challenging but super rewarding project. Would I do it again? Maybe. But for now, I’m pretty happy with how this one turned out.
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