So, I’ve been eyeing the Patek Philippe Grand Complications 7140R-001 for a while now. It’s a real beauty, but getting your hands on one is like winning the lottery. I mean, the waiting lists are insane, and unless you’ve bought half a dozen watches from them before, good luck getting a call back from the official stores.
I started by doing some digging online. I read that the 7140R-001 is called the “Ladies First Perpetual Calendar,” which is pretty cool. It’s made of 18K rose gold and has a silver dial. The pictures online looked amazing, but I wanted to see it in person.
First, I hit up the official Patek Philippe website to learn more about their “hallmarks” – basically, how to tell if a Patek Philippe is real. They said to look for “750” on gold watches, meaning 18k gold, and “950” on platinum ones, which is 95% pure platinum. Good to know.
Then I remembered reading somewhere that Patek Philippe moved their headquarters to Plan-les-Ouates back in ’96. Just a fun fact, I guess.
Hitting the Shops
Armed with some basic knowledge, I decided to check out some stores in person. I’m based near Camden, NJ, so I made a day of it, visiting a bunch of places.
- Clutter Vintage: Cool little shop, but no Patek Philippes, as expected.
- Cherry Hill Mall: Struck out again. Lots of nice watches, but not the one I was after.
- STUMP: This place is more about plants, but I thought, hey, why not? No luck.
- Dig This: Another cool spot, but again, no 7140R-001.
- Occasionette: Mostly gifts and stuff. No watches.
- The Shops At Liberty Place: Getting desperate now. Still nothing.
- Bespoke Home + Life: Nada.
- Meraki Market: Zilch.
- 2nd Ave: Nope.
It was a long shot, I know. These aren’t exactly the kind of stores that carry high-end watches like the 7140R-001. But I thought maybe, just maybe, I’d get lucky.
The Breakthrough
After a lot of searching and a lot of dead ends, I finally decided to call some high-end watch dealers in the city, I found a shop that had a replica of the Patek Philippe 7140R-001. I drove over right away.
When I saw the replica, I was blown away. It looked so much like the real thing. The rose gold case, the silver dial, even the tiny details were spot on. It’s powered by the caliber 240 Q, which has a 22kt micro-rotor and 27 jewels. It beats at 21,600 vph. Fancy, right?
I tried it on, and it felt amazing. It came with an alligator leather strap, just like the original. I checked for the “750” hallmark, and sure enough, it was there. The dealer explained that they use the same materials and craftsmanship as the official Patek Philippe factory, but the only difference was that this one didn’t have real diamonds. It is not the original, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a great watch, and the price was much more reasonable. Of course, the original is still perfect and if I had that kind of money I would definitely get the real one.
I ended up buying the replica. I know it’s not the same as owning an authentic Patek Philippe, but for me, it’s close enough. It’s a beautiful watch, and I’m thrilled to finally have it on my wrist. It was a long journey, but it was definitely worth it.
So, that’s my story of how I got my hands on a replica Patek Philippe Grand Complications 7140R-001. It wasn’t easy, but persistence and a bit of luck paid off in the end.
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