Okay, here’s my experience trying to remake the Patek Philippe Golden Ellipse 5738R, original order.
So, I’ve always been fascinated by fancy watches, and the Patek Philippe Golden Ellipse? Man, that’s a beauty. I saw some posts online saying its design comes from the “golden section” – some old Greek math thing. Apparently, this ratio, 1 to 1.6181 or something, is in a bunch of famous art and buildings. That’s kinda cool, right?
I read that the Golden Ellipse originally had these super accurate quartz movements. They were like a mix of the Nautilus and the Golden Ellipse, with those “ears” on the sides. I thought to myself, “I want to try and make one of those!”.
Now, I’m no watchmaker, but I’m pretty handy. I figured, how hard could it be to remake a watch with just two hands? No extra stuff to worry about. Turns out, it’s way harder than it looks!
Starting the Project
First, I started looking up everything I could find on the 5738R-001 model. I found out they go for, like, 39 grand online! Crazy, right? I found a bunch of listings on this site, Chrono24 it was called, but I didn’t buy anything of course, I was just trying to learn more about the watch.
- Gathering References: I spent hours, maybe even days, looking at pictures. I saved every angle I could find, studied the dial, the hands, the case – everything.
- Sketching and Planning: I started sketching. Badly. But it helped me understand how the parts fit together. I made tons of notes, trying to figure out the size of each part.
The Hard Part
- Making the Case: This was a nightmare. I tried shaping some metal, but it looked nothing like the smooth, elegant curve of the real thing. The “ears” were impossible. I messed up so many times.
- The Dial: I thought this would be easier. I tried printing out a picture of the dial, but it looked cheap and fake. I even tried painting it myself, but it was a disaster.
- The Hands: These were tiny and delicate. I tried cutting them out of thin metal sheets, but they were always crooked or the wrong size.
Giving Up (Almost)
Honestly, I almost gave up. It was so frustrating. My “Golden Ellipse” looked like a sad, mangled piece of metal. Nothing gold about it. But then I had an idea. I found some old watch parts in a drawer – a broken watch I’d kept for some reason. Maybe I could use some of those?
A Glimmer of Hope
- Recycling Parts: The old watch had a decent-looking case. It wasn’t elliptical, but it was a start. I managed to pry it open and take out the movement.
- A New Dial: I found a simple, clean dial from another old watch. It wasn’t the right color, but it was way better than my attempts.
- Borrowed Hands: The hands from the broken watch were almost perfect. A little too long, but I carefully filed them down.
The Final Product
It’s not perfect, not even close. It doesn’t look anything like a real Patek Philippe Golden Ellipse 5738R. But, it’s my watch. I made it. Or, well, I cobbled it together from other watches. It actually tells time, which is pretty cool. It’s got a lot of flaws, but I learned a ton about how watches are made. And I have a new respect for those watchmakers. They’re like, artists or something. It’s way harder than I ever imagined to make something so small and intricate that it actually works. It is not going to cost me $39,014 for sure, but I do have fun during the process. Maybe one day I’ll try again, but for now, I’m happy with my franken-watch.
So, yeah, that’s my story of trying and failing to remake a super expensive watch. It was a fun ride, even if the destination was a bit… different than I expected.
Hope you enjoyed my little adventure!
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