Man, I’ve been totally obsessed with the Patek Philippe Golden Ellipse lately. It’s such a classic, you know? So, I decided to take matters into my own hands and try to remake one myself. I’m not a watchmaker or anything, but I figured, why not give it a shot?
I started by doing a ton of research. I looked up everything I could find about the Golden Ellipse, especially the 5738R model. This one’s special because it’s the rose gold version they released for the 50th anniversary. It’s a real beauty, inspired by the Golden Ratio and all that fancy stuff. I found out that the original goes for, like, 8 to 9 grand, which is way out of my league. But that didn’t stop me.
First, I needed to find a case that looked similar. I spent hours browsing online, checking out different watch parts suppliers. Eventually, I stumbled upon a rose gold-plated case that had a similar shape. It wasn’t perfect, but it was close enough. I ordered it right away, along with a simple, black dial that I thought would match the minimalist style of the Golden Ellipse.
Next up was the movement. Now, I know the real Patek Philippe uses some super complicated, in-house movement. But for my little project, I opted for a basic, reliable quartz movement. It’s nothing special, but it keeps time accurately, and that’s all I really needed.
Then, it was time to put it all together. I watched a few videos online about watch assembly and it was so difficult. I carefully attached the dial to the movement, then I fitted the whole thing into the case. It was a bit tricky, but I managed to get it done without messing anything up. It was a challenge, to say the least. I might have fumbled a few times and had to redo some steps, but hey, that’s part of the learning process, right?
For the strap, I wanted something that resembled the original bracelet. The real 5738R has this fancy chain-style bracelet with over 300 hand-polished links. I wasn’t about to try and recreate that! Instead, I found a simple, black leather strap with a rose gold-plated buckle. It’s not as flashy, but it looks pretty good and it’s comfortable to wear.
The End Result
After all that work, I finally had my own “Patek Philippe Golden Ellipse” homage. It’s not the real deal, of course, but I’m pretty happy with how it turned out. It’s got that classic, minimalist look that I love, and it’s a fun conversation starter. Plus, I learned a lot about watches in the process, which is always cool.
Would I do it again? Maybe. It was a lot of work, but it was also a fun challenge. And who knows, maybe one day I’ll be able to afford the real thing. Until then, I’ll be rocking my homemade version with pride.
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