Okay, so, I got it in my head to try and remake that Patek Philippe Gondolo 7041R-001. You know, the one they say is for the fancy folks with deep pockets? My grandson, he’s glued to his computer all the time, found all these bits and pieces online about it. I thought, “Why not give it a shot?” Seemed like a fun project, and honestly, those watches are way out of my price range.
First thing I did was to try to find a real one around here. No luck. But I did find pictures and stuff online. They call it “Rose Gold,” and there are these places, “The Hour Glass Australia” is one, that sell them. So, I spent a good few hours just looking at pictures, trying to get a feel for how this thing is put together. I jotted down notes about the size – it’s like 30 by 33.8 mm, which is pretty small, in a good way, I guess. I also noticed the year these things are made. Some of the pictures I saw were from watches made way back in 2013, others were brand new, like 2024 new.
Then came the tricky part. Where do you even start when you’re trying to remake something like this? I found some forums online where people were talking about making their own watches, or getting “replica” ones. Not sure how I feel about that word, “replica,” but it gave me some ideas. I started to see what kind of parts I could find that might work. This wasn’t easy, let me tell you. I went through a lot of online shops, looking for watch movements, cases, dials… you name it.
Here’s what I ended up gathering, after a lot of trial and error:
- A watch movement: This was the hardest part. I found a couple that were close to the size I needed, but none of them were exactly right. Ended up settling on one that was a bit bigger, which meant I had to adjust my plans for the case.
- A case: I wanted to get that “Rose Gold” look, so I searched for a gold-colored case. Found one that was pretty close in style, but again, not an exact match. It was a bit bigger than the real Gondolo, but I figured I could make it work.
- A dial: This was probably the easiest part to find. There are tons of watch dials out there. I found one that had a similar silver color and a simple, elegant design.
- Hands: These little guys were a pain to find in the right size and style. I ended up ordering a few different sets before I found some that looked decent.
- A strap: No way I was going to try and make a strap myself. I just ordered a nice leather one online.
Putting it all together was a whole other adventure. I don’t have any fancy watchmaking tools, just some basic stuff I use for other projects. I had to be super careful not to scratch anything, especially the case and the dial. It took me a few tries to get the movement to fit right in the case. And let me tell you, those watch hands are tiny! My hands aren’t as steady as they used to be, so it took a lot of patience to get them on.
Finally, after a few weeks of tinkering, I had something that looked like a watch. It wasn’t a Patek Philippe, that’s for sure. But it was my version of it, and I was pretty proud of myself for even getting this far. It’s not perfect, but it tells the time, and it looks pretty nice on my wrist. I learned a lot along the way, and who knows, maybe I’ll try making another one someday. This whole thing was a good reminder that you’re never too old to try something new, even if it seems a bit crazy at first.
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