Okay, so I took on this project to remake a Patek Philippe Gondolo, the 7042/100R-010 model. It’s a fancy watch, no doubt, and I thought, “Why not give it a shot?”
First things first, I gathered all the pictures I could find of this watch. The Gondolo 7042/100R-010 is a real beauty, with its rose gold rectangular case. It’s got this detailed dial with loads of diamonds. The original is a manual winding watch, which I wanted to stick to.
I started by creating a case. The real one is 18k rose gold, but I went with a more budget-friendly metal and tried to get that rose gold look. It took a few attempts to get the shape right – it’s 31mm by 34.8mm, and getting those curves right was a real pain.
- Case Making: This was a huge part of the job. Shaping the metal, polishing it, it all took time. I spent days just trying to make it look like the original Gondolo.
Next up was the dial. The original is covered in diamonds, but I used some shiny stones that looked pretty similar. Arranging them in the right pattern, as in the real Patek Philippe, took me ages. Each little stone had to be carefully placed and set.
- Dial Work: Setting those stones was tedious, but it had to be done. I used a magnifying glass to make sure they were all lined up correctly.
Then there was the movement. The original watch has a manual winding mechanism. I tried my best to make something similar. Assembling all those tiny parts took forever, and it took a few tries to get it working right.
- Movement Assembly: This was probably the hardest part. All those tiny gears and springs! I used tweezers and a lot of patience to put it all together.
Putting the watch together was another challenge. I had to make sure the case, dial, and movement all fit perfectly. It was like a complex puzzle. I started by carefully setting the dial into the case, making sure it was centered and secure.
- Final Assembly: Screwing in the back of the case was nerve-wracking. One slip and I could scratch the whole thing.
After a lot of work, I finally had my own version of the Patek Philippe Gondolo 7042/100R-010. It’s not perfect, but I’m pretty happy with how it turned out. It’s got that classic Gondolo look, and it actually tells the time!
- Testing: I wore the watch for a few days to make sure it kept time. It’s a bit off, but hey, it works!
The Result
This whole project was a huge learning experience. I learned a lot about watchmaking and how much work goes into making a luxury watch like the Patek Philippe Gondolo. Would I do it again? Maybe. It was a lot of work, but seeing the finished product was pretty satisfying.
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