Today, I tried to remake a Patek Philippe Calatrava 6119R-001. This watch has always been a dream of mine, and I decided to give it a go at recreating it myself.
First, I gathered all the materials I needed. I needed a rose gold case because that’s what the 6119R-001 has, and it’s about 39mm in diameter, so I made sure to get the right size. I also needed to get a movement similar to the manual winding caliber 30-255 PS that Patek Philippe uses, with a power reserve of around 65 hours. That was the hard part because I am not a billionaire to buy the original one.
I started by assembling the case. It was a bit tricky, but I managed to get it right. The original watch has this cool “Clous de Paris” pattern on the bezel, which is a kind of guilloché hobnail pattern. I tried to recreate that pattern as best as I could, but man, it was not easy.
- Disassembled an old watch to understand the parts.
- Sketched the design multiple times to get the proportions right.
- Sourced materials, which took a while since I wanted them to be just right.
Next up was the movement. I found a similar movement online after weeks of searching. I carefully installed it into the case, and tried to make sure everything was aligned. This part took me the longest because I was being extra careful.
Then, I worked on the dial and hands. I wanted to keep it as close to the original as possible. The 6119R-001 has a pretty simple yet elegant dial, so I tried to mimic that look. I spent a lot of time on this because I wanted it to look perfect.
After everything was assembled, I tested the watch to see if it was working properly. It was ticking, but I noticed it was running a bit fast. I had to open it up again and adjust the movement. It took a few tries, but I finally got it running accurately, or at least I think so.
Final Result
Honestly, it didn’t turn out exactly like the original, but I’m pretty proud of what I accomplished. It was a lot of work, but it was worth it. I learned so much about watchmaking through this process. It’s not perfect, but it’s my version of the Calatrava 6119R-001, and it’s mine to keep.
Would I do it again? Maybe, but not anytime soon. It was a fun project, but it was also pretty challenging. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed hearing about my little watchmaking adventure!
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