Alright, let’s talk about my latest project – remaking the Patek Philippe Golden Ellipse 5738R. Yeah, the one from the official flagship store. It was a wild ride, let me tell you.
First off, I spent hours just staring at pictures of this beauty. I mean, have you seen it? The shape is not quite a circle, not quite a rectangle, it’s this elegant ellipse that’s supposed to be based on the “golden ratio” – some ancient Greek math stuff that’s apparently the secret sauce in famous art and buildings. I got a little obsessed, not gonna lie.
I started by sketching out the shape. Over and over again. It’s way harder than it looks to get that perfect ellipse. I tore up a bunch of paper, my desk was a mess. I even tried using some fancy compasses and rulers, but my lines still looked wonky. Finally, I realized I needed a template. I found an image of the watch face online, printed it out, and traced it. Much better!
Cutting the Case
Next up was the case. In the pictures, it’s rose gold, all shiny and fancy. I didn’t have any rose gold lying around, of course, so I had to get creative. I ended up using some brass sheets I had from a previous project. Brass is a good stand-in, right? It’s got that warm, yellowish vibe.
- First attempt: Total fail. I tried to freehand the cutting with a tiny saw, and let’s just say it was not pretty. Jagged edges everywhere.
- Second attempt: I used my printed template and carefully traced the shape onto the brass with a marker. This was way better. I used a jeweler’s saw this time, the one with the super thin blade. It took forever, and my hand was cramping, but I managed to cut out the basic elliptical shape.
The “Ears”
Then there are these little “ears” on the sides of the watch. I think they are there to make it look a little bit like another one of their watches, the Nautilus. Those were a pain to make. I cut out tiny pieces of brass, shaped them with files, and then tried to solder them onto the main case. Soldering is tricky, especially with tiny parts. I burned myself a couple of times, and the solder kept melting all over the place.
Polishing and Finishing
After what felt like a million years, I finally had all the pieces together. But it looked rough, really rough. So, I spent days just polishing the brass. I started with coarse sandpaper, then moved to finer and finer grits. My fingers were raw, but the brass started to shine. It wasn’t quite the same gleam as rose gold, but it had a nice, warm glow. It reminded me of those old-timey pocket watches.
The Movement
Now, the real Patek Philippe has some super-precise quartz movement inside. I obviously didn’t have one of those. Instead, I found an old, broken wristwatch in a drawer. I took it apart, cleaned up the tiny gears and springs, and somehow managed to get it ticking again. It wasn’t accurate, but hey, it moved! Fitting it inside the case was another challenge. I had to make a little holder out of some scrap metal, and then carefully secure the movement inside. It was a tight fit, but I did it!
The Dial and Hands
The dial was pretty simple, just a dark blue color. I painted a small piece of metal with some enamel paint I had, and it looked surprisingly good. The hands were a bit trickier. I cut them out of thin pieces of metal and painted them white. They were a little wobbly, but they did the job.
Finally, after weeks of work, I had my own version of the Golden Ellipse. It wasn’t perfect, not by a long shot. The shape was a little off, the “ears” were a bit wonky, and the timekeeping was, shall we say, “approximate.” But it was mine. I made it with my own two hands. And you know what? I’m pretty darn proud of it. It sits on my desk now, a reminder that even the most complex things can be broken down into smaller, manageable steps. And that even if you mess up a bunch of times, you can still create something pretty cool.
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