Okay, so, I’ve always been into watches, right? Not like a super expert, but I like a nice watch when I see one. And this one, the Patek Philippe Calatrava 6119R-001, it just caught my eye. I mean, it’s a beauty! But, whoa, the price tag and that waitlist? 8 years? That is ridiculous! But, anyway I decided to remake it myself.
First off, I started digging around for info. Found out it’s got this 18kt rose gold case, which is fancy as heck. And a brown alligator leather strap, because, you know, gotta be classy. The dial, it’s white, with rose gold hands and these little index markers for the hours. Simple, but slick. But the thing that really got me was that bezel – it’s got this special pattern, they call it a hobnail pattern, all tiny little squares.
I got my hands on some materials, not real gold, of course. I found a nice rose gold-colored metal that looked pretty close. For the strap, I opted for a regular brown leather, I will probably try to find an alligator strap later. But for now this one will do. The dial was tricky. I ended up using a plain white piece of material and carefully painted on the hour markers and the little minute markers around the edge.
Now, for that bezel. I spent a good chunk of time trying to figure out how to recreate that hobnail pattern, in the end, I just used a small tool to make those tiny squares by hand. It was a pain, but I think it turned out okay. The real one has this fancy manual winding thingamajig, the caliber 30-255 PS, with a 65-hour power reserve. Obviously, I couldn’t replicate that, so I just used a regular quartz movement. I know, I know, it’s not the same, but it keeps time, right?
Putting it all together was a whole other adventure. I had to be super careful not to mess up the dial or scratch the case. I even wore these little white gloves, like a real watchmaker, ha! Finally, after a lot of trial and error, I got it all assembled. It doesn’t look exactly like the real thing, but for a DIY project, I am pretty happy with it.
The Results
- Looks: Not too shabby, if I do say so myself. The rose gold color is a bit off, but the overall vibe is there.
- Strap: The leather strap is comfortable enough. A real alligator strap would be nice though.
- Dial: This is probably the weakest part. My hand-painted markers aren’t as crisp as the original.
- Bezel: I’m actually pretty proud of this. It’s not perfect, but you can definitely see the hobnail pattern.
- Movement: Well, it’s a quartz, so it’s not fancy, but at least I know it is not going to stop.
So, there you have it. My attempt at remaking the Patek Philippe Calatrava 6119R-001. It was a fun project, and I learned a lot. Maybe one day I’ll get my hands on the real deal, but for now, this little homemade version will do just fine.
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