Hey everyone, so today I wanted to share my little project of remaking the Patek Philippe Golden Ellipse 5738R. Yeah, you heard it right, the fancy watch. Now, I’m no expert watchmaker, but I like to get my hands dirty and see what I can come up with.
I started by gathering all the info I could find on this beauty. I looked at pictures, read descriptions, and even tried to understand what makes this watch tick, literally. The automatic caliber 240 movement is known for being super thin, only 6 mm thick. That’s thinner than my phone! This watch is pretty much all about that sleek, 18k rose gold and a shiny black alligator leather strap. Very classy.
Getting the Materials
First off, I needed to get the materials. Finding 18k rose gold wasn’t exactly a walk in the park, but I managed to source some from a local jeweler. The strap was easier – got a nice piece of black alligator leather from a crafts store. For the movement, well, I didn’t make a whole automatic movement from scratch, no sir. I found a similar-looking, thin automatic movement online that would do the trick for this project. I’m not trying to fool anyone into thinking this is a real Patek, just wanted to see if I could get the look right.
Putting It Together
I carefully measured and shaped the rose gold into that iconic ellipse shape. It’s about 34.5 x 39.5 mm, which isn’t huge, but it’s got a presence. I used some basic tools, nothing fancy – just some files, a small hammer, and a lot of patience. Getting the shape right took a few tries, let me tell you. The design was actually inspired by this old “golden section” thing from the ancient Greek guys, some kind of “divine” proportion. It’s supposed to be a ratio of 1 to 1.6181, or something like that. I guess it worked for some of history’s greatest art, so why not a watch, right?
The dial was a bit tricky. I went with a simple black background and used some thin pieces of rose gold for the hands and markers. Nothing too complicated, but it had to look neat. I tried to fix the rose gold bezel, but my hands were just not steady enough. Might need more practice for that.
Putting the movement in was a bit nerve-wracking. I didn’t want to break anything, but it fit pretty snugly in the case. Once that was in, I attached the strap. It looked pretty good, if I do say so myself. The original has this 18k rose gold buckle, but I just used a regular buckle for now. Maybe I’ll upgrade that later.
Final Touches
After everything was assembled, I gave it a good polish. It’s not perfect, but it’s got that Golden Ellipse vibe. The whole thing is really light and feels good on the wrist. I wore it around the house for a day, and it kept time pretty well. Not bad for a homemade project.
This was a fun little experiment. I learned a lot about watches and how they’re put together. Would I do it again? Probably. Maybe I’ll try a different model next time. There were also these Golden Ellipse models with a quartz movement, like the 3770. It was kind of a mix between the Nautilus and the Golden Ellipse and had these “ears” on the side. Maybe that’s a project for another day. It’s all about the process, right? And hey, if I can make something that looks this cool, maybe I’m not so bad at this after all.
So, that’s my story of remaking the Patek Philippe Golden Ellipse 5738R. Hope you enjoyed it! Let me know what you think, and if you have any ideas for my next project, drop them in the comments. Cheers!
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