Okay, so, I’ve been wanting to remake this Patek Philippe Nautilus 5712, the classic style one. It’s a real beauty, you know? But getting your hands on an original? Forget about it! Seven-year waiting list! And they might even stop making them soon. So, I thought, why not try to make my own version? I started by researching everything I could about this watch.
First off, I looked closely at a ton of pictures online. The dial color is the first thing that catches your eye. I spent hours comparing different photos to really understand how it should look. Then, I dug into the weight. Supposedly, a real one weighs around 131.4 grams. That’s something I’d have to keep in mind. I also checked out other Patek models like the Calatrava and Aquanaut, just to get a feel for the brand’s style.
Details investigation
- Printed numbers and details, they gotta be crisp and evenly spaced, obviously. No misspellings or anything sloppy.
- Inside look, these watches usually don’t show off their inner workings, except for those fancy skeleton ones.
- Crystal, all the new ones use sapphire, so that’s what I’d need, too.
I also found out that the 5712 is actually a bit smaller than the 5711, which is just a time and date watch, but it still packs in a power reserve, moon phase, and calendar. Pretty cool, right? And it turns out they stopped making some versions of the 5712, the ones with leather straps. They only make the bracelet version now.
So, after all this research, I started gathering materials. Finding the right stuff was tough, especially since I wanted it to be as close to the real thing as possible. For example, I searched high and low for a material that matched the weight I was aiming for. I got some tools together, too. A lot of this was new to me, so I watched a bunch of videos online to learn how to use them properly. I messed up a few times, yeah, but it was all part of the learning process.
Putting it all together was the hardest part. I spent days just trying to get the dial to look right. Then there was the whole thing with the hands and the little details. It was slow going, but I kept at it. Finally, after weeks of work, I had something that actually looked like a Patek Philippe Nautilus 5712! It’s not perfect, of course, but I’m pretty proud of it. It was a ton of work, but I learned so much along the way. And hey, now I have a cool watch that’s kind of like the real deal, but made by me!
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