Okay, so, I’ve been itching to get my hands on a really nice watch for a while now. Not just any watch, but something special, you know? I finally decided to go for it and try to remake a Patek Philippe Calatrava, specifically the 5088/100P-001 model. It’s a real beauty with that black enamel dial and those hand-engraved details. The real one is, like, way out of my budget – we’re talking around $105,820 or something crazy like that. So, I figured, why not try to make my own version?
First, I spent a bunch of time just looking at pictures and reading about the watch online. I needed to get a feel for the design, the size, everything. The original has a 38 mm platinum case, which is pretty sleek and not too thick at 8.3 mm. It’s got a sapphire-crystal back, too, so you can see all the inner workings. I found a lot of information and pictures. I made many notes, and I knew it won’t be easy.
Then came the hard part – finding the parts. I spent days, maybe even weeks, scouring the internet. It looks like it’s easy to find them. I searched on eBay and a bunch of other websites, but I need to make sure the quality.
The case was the biggest challenge. I wanted something that felt substantial and had a similar look to the platinum one, but without the crazy price tag. I looked into different materials, like stainless steel, but nothing seemed quite right. Finally, after a lot of digging, I found a place that made custom watch cases, and they were able to make one for me that was pretty close to the original design, but not platinum.
Next up was the dial. That black enamel is a signature part of the 5088/100P-001, and I knew I couldn’t just paint a regular dial black and call it a day. I did a bunch of research on enameling and even tried it myself a couple of times. Let me tell you, it’s not as easy as it looks! I ended up ruining a few dials before I finally found someone who could do a decent enamel job for me.
For the movement, I decided to go with something reliable and readily available. I didn’t want to spend a fortune on a super fancy movement, especially since I was already pushing my budget with the case and dial. I found a decent automatic movement online that fit the case and seemed like it would do the trick.
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Assembling the watch was a whole other adventure.
I’m not a watchmaker, so I had to learn as I went. I watched a ton of videos online and read a bunch of articles. There were definitely a few times when I thought I had messed everything up, but I kept at it.
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The hands were another tricky part.
I wanted them to look similar to the ones on the real 5088/100P-001, but finding the exact shape and size was tough. I ended up modifying some hands I found online to get them closer to what I wanted.
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The engraving was the final touch.
I knew I couldn’t replicate the intricate hand-engraving of the original, but I wanted to add something special to make the watch my own. I found a local engraver who was able to do a simple design on the case back, and I think it turned out pretty cool.
After many days of work, and a few setbacks along the way, I finally had my own version of the Patek Philippe Calatrava 5088/100P-001. It’s not perfect, of course, and it’s definitely not a real Patek Philippe. But it’s something I made with my own hands, and that makes it pretty special to me. It was a fun project, and I learned a lot along the way. Maybe someday I’ll be able to afford the real deal, but for now, I’m happy with my homemade version.
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