Today, I got this crazy idea to remake a Patek Philippe Calatrava 5227R-001. I saw it online and thought, “Why not?” It’s a really fancy watch, but I wanted to see if I could make something that looked similar. It is really a big challenge for me, I like doing this kind of thing but not always success.
First, I checked out a bunch of pictures and information about this watch online. The official site didn’t have a store nearby. I found out that this Patek Philippe Calatrava 5227R-001 is pretty expensive, like around $40,000 to $44,000, which is way out of my budget. Then I searched on some watch sites and found some used ones for around $39,999. Still too much for me, so I just looked at the details for my project.
This watch has a rose gold case, which looks super classy. It’s about 39mm, not too big, not too small. The dial is ivory-colored, and the hands are golden. I also read that it has this thing called Caliber #324 S C with 29 jewels, and it beats at 28,800 vph. It is made out of 217 parts. Sounded complicated, but I was just focusing on the look, I have no idea about those parts.
I decided to use some materials I had at home. I found an old watch with a similar size and started taking it apart. For the rose gold look, I thought about using some copper-colored paint. I know it won’t be real gold, but it’s just for fun. I even considered using some thin copper sheets, I grabbed them from some old electronics to wrap around the watch case.
The hardest part was the dial. I tried to make it look like the original by printing out a picture of the dial I found online. I carefully cut it out and glued it to the old watch face. It is really hard and I almost gave up. The hands were tricky, too. I used some thin metal pieces and painted them gold. It wasn’t perfect, but it kinda looked like the real thing from afar.
After hours of work, I finally finished my “remake” Patek Philippe. It is not a real one and I know that, just a cheap copy, no fancy 217 parts inside. It didn’t have all the fancy mechanisms, but it resembled the 5227R-001 in a way. Of course, it’s nowhere near as good as the original, but it was a fun project. I wore it around the house, pretending to be all fancy. It was pretty cool to see something I made from scratch.
This whole thing showed me how much work goes into making those expensive watches. I don’t think I’ll ever buy a real one, but I definitely appreciate them more now. Maybe next time, I’ll try to remake another model, who knows, maybe one day, I just buy a real one for fun.
- Started by researching the Patek Philippe Calatrava 5227R-001.
- Gathered materials from old watches and other stuff I had.
- Worked on the case, trying to make it look like rose gold.
- Created a dial that looked similar to the original.
- Made makeshift hands and painted them gold.
- Assembled everything and enjoyed my homemade watch.
My Takeaway
It’s not about having the most expensive things. It’s about being creative and enjoying the process. And hey, now I have a one-of-a-kind watch, even if it’s not a real Patek Philippe!
Click to consult