Okay, here is my sharing about how I remade a Patek Philippe Nautilus 7008/1A.
I’ve always been fascinated by watches, especially the high-end ones. Patek Philippe has always been at the top of my list, and the Nautilus 7008/1A, with its elegant design and diamond bezel, is a real head-turner. But, man, the price tag is insane! So, I thought, “Why not try to remake one myself?”
First, I started by looking for a good homage watch. I found this Parnis Nautilus homage that looked pretty decent. It’s an automatic, with a 42mm case size. Not exactly the same as the original 33.6mm, but it’s a start. The lug-to-lug is 51.3mm, which makes it wear a bit larger than the real deal, but hey, it’s a homage, not a replica.
Next up, the dial. The original 7008/1A has a beautiful silvered opaline dial. This Parnis has a plain silver dial, so that’s something I needed to change. I started looking for a watchmaker who could modify the dial. This was the hard part. I searched a lot and asked around but still no luck.
I found the original’s caliber is 324 S C2 automatic, but I can’t get this. I thought I may just leave it for now since it is not very possible to get this movement. I’ll focus on the visual aspect first.
The bezel was the next challenge. The 7008/1A has a diamond bezel with 50 diamonds, totaling around 0.753 carats. I found some cubic zirconia that looked pretty good and were way cheaper than real diamonds. I bought 50 of those and then had to find a jeweler who could set them in a bezel. Took some time, but I managed to find a local guy who did a decent job. It’s not perfect, but it sparkles nicely. I’m quite satisfied with the result.
Putting it all together was tricky. I had to be super careful not to damage anything. After a few attempts and some minor adjustments, I had a watch that resembled the Nautilus 7008/1A. The total cost was a fraction of the original, which is great. But it took a lot of time, finding materials, making parts by myself, it’s a real hard journey.
Here’s a quick breakdown of what I did:
- Started with a Parnis Nautilus homage.
- Searched for a watchmaker to change the dial to an opaline dial, but failed.
- Bought 50 cubic zirconia to mimic the diamond bezel.
- Found a local jeweler to set the stones in a custom bezel.
- Assembled the watch carefully, making sure everything fit.
It’s not a perfect remake, but I’m pretty happy with how it turned out. It’s got the look and feel of the Nautilus, and it didn’t cost me an arm and a leg. Plus, I learned a lot about watches and the work that goes into making them. Would I do it again? Maybe. It was a fun project, but it was also a lot of work.
But I have to say, the finished watch looks really good on the wrist. It might not be a genuine Patek, but it’s my Patek, and that makes it special to me. Maybe someday I’ll save up enough to buy the real thing, but for now, this will do just fine. I have to say, it’s really a great experience and I’m glad to share it with you guys!
Thanks for reading, and if you have any questions, feel free to ask!
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