So this “tiffany patek” idea hit me yesterday after seeing some janky knockoff dials online. Figured why not try modding one myself? Had an old busted Patek Calatrava gathering dust – perfect guinea pig.
The Messy Start
First, popped open the caseback. Man, screws are tiny! Dropped one right into my carpet. Spent like 20 minutes crawling around with a magnet. Found it stuck to a loose staple. Win?
Then came the dial removal. Used dental floss like some YouTube tutorial said. Big mistake. Scratched the hell outta the chapter ring. Felt my blood turn cold. Almost tossed the whole thing out the window.
Paint Nightmare
Bought “Tiffany blue” enamel paint. Looked perfect online. Real life? More like cheap mint toothpaste.
- First coat: Streaky disaster
- Second coat: Clumped up near the indices
- Third try: Brushed too hard, smeared the freaking seconds track
Took acetone to reset. Nearly melted the dial. Hands shaking the whole time. Wiped off half the lume while reassembling. Now it glows like a dying firefly at 3 and 9 only. Classy.
The “Finished” Product
Slapped it back together. Crown threads fought me hard – cross-threaded it twice. Caseback finally clicked. Held my breath. Ticked! For five glorious seconds. Then stopped dead. Gave it a light tap. Started again. Now it keeps time if laid flat. Stand it up? Dead in 10 minutes.
Took wrist shots anyway. Lighting hid the scratches pretty good. Posted it with “Patience and precision pays off 😉”. Like three people asked if it was factory. Nearly choked laughing. Got roasted by some watch forum geeks though. One dude said “Looks like it soaked in Gatorade”. Accurate.
Lessons Learned
- Dental floss is for teeth
- Good paint ain’t cheap
- Pateks stay sealed for a damn reason
Would I try again? Probably. Got my eyes on a roached Rolex datejust now…
