Six months after celebrating its 175th anniversary with a collection of commemorative watches in limited editions that will surely become auction records over the years, Patek Philippe presented in Baselworld 2015 three new models, very different from each other, that demonstrate its rich heritage and its ability to create watches that combine tradition and innovation.
This legacy includes, among others, aviators' watches, which, before the invention of GPS, were considered essential instruments for navigation. Barely having completed the 175th anniversary celebrations, Patek Philippe is preparing to celebrate its 200th anniversary with a nod that emerged – they say – from the will of the previous president, Philippe Stern: the Calatrava Pilot Travel Time reference 5524
Having only the name of Calatrava - since its appearance would make for a new collection - the House surprises us with a pilot's watch that, although it has its predecessor in the Patek Philippe Museum itself, breaks with the concept of "dress watch" that is usually associated with the brand: only the Nautilus and Aquanaut families are classified as "sporty", and even so they are considered exceptional within the catalog.
The Calatrava Pilot Travel Time reference 5524 is based on the “Sidéromètres” or wristwatches with a time angle that the manufacture had already developed and built in the 1930s based on an idea ofWeemscompleted byCharles Lindbergh.
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But in times of GPS the time angle is an obsolete way of determining one's position, so instead the Calatrava Pilot Travel provides the double time zone of the 324 SC FUS movement that was already presented last year at the Nautilus Travel Time as a world novelty despite the fact that Patek Philippe has been making watches with “Universal Time” since 1930. In fact, in 1959 it obtained its first patent for the Travel Time mechanism and in 1996 it added one. improvement rewarded with a second patent: when the local time hand is moved forward or backward in one-hour jumps by means of one of the two pushers housed in the case, an isolation system disconnects the mechanism from the time zones of the base movement. Result: these manipulations have no influence, via running-in, on either the amplitude of the balance or the regularity of its oscillations, and the watch retains all its running precision.
The Calatrava Pilot Travel has a 42mm white gold case, a rare feature in the house's collections that helps make it “rare” even within the Calatrava. Unlike most pilot watches, its dial is not black but a deep blue color, which also contrasts perfectly with the large applied white gold Arabic numerals.
revestidas de SuperLumiNova que jalonan los índices horarios. Al igual que en todos los relojes Travel Time, la aguja –calada- de la hora del domicilio se mantiene en segundo plano. Cuando la hora local y la del domicilio son idénticas dicha aguja queda incluso prácticamente oculta debajo de la aguja de la hora local. Los dos husos horarios disponen de un indicación día/noche (a las 9h para la hora local, a las 3h para la hora del domicilio) y se accionan mediante unos pulsadores (+1 hora a las 8 y -1 hora a las 10) que disponen de un sistema de seguridad patentado para evitar cualquier desajuste accidental de la hora local. Para activarlos, el usuario debe primero desatornillarlos girándolos un cuarto de vuelta (una manipulación facilitada por el relieve acanalado). A continuación se vuelven a atornillar girándolos de nuevo un cuarto de vuelta después de su activación. El calendario a las seis mediante subesfera y aguja presenta la particularidad de indicar las cifras de tres en tres, lo que contribuye a mantener la esfera descongestionada.
All this animated by the automatic caliber 324 C FUS, with a central seconds hand, the aforementioned calendar with a needle and a heavy central rotor made of 21 carat gold, with an exquisite decoration without neglecting the constant search for innovation: the Gyromax® balance is coupled to a Spiromax® hairspring made of Silinvar®, a derivative of silicon. The extraordinary qualities of this material, as well as the patented geometry of the hairspring, guarantee the high reliability and extreme precision of movement required by the Patek Philippe Seal, with a tolerance of -3/+2 seconds per day. A transparent sapphire crystal caseback allows you to contemplate all the beauty of the chamfered bridges decorated with Côtes de Genève, the refinement of the gold rotor with circular “Côtes de Genève” motifs, pearlized center, snail-shaped sides and Calatrava cross.
Technical characteristics
Patek Philippe Calatrava Pilot Travel Time reference 5524
Motion: Caliber 324 S C FUS
Automatic winding mechanism, two time zones (local time and home time), different day/night indications for local time and home time, date by hand.
Diameter: 31 mm (base movement 27 mm, calendar/time zones module 31 mm)
Height: 4.9 mm (base movement 3.32 mm, calendar/time zones module 11.58 mm)
Number of components: 294
Number of rubies: 29
power reserve: min. 35 hours, max. 45 hours
oscillating mass: 21K gold center rotor, one-way reassembly
Steering wheel: Gyromax
Frequency: 28,800 vibrations per hour (4 Hz)
Spiral: Spiromax®
Pitón: Fixed
Crown functions: Two position crown:
• tight: rope of movement
• extracted: set the time
Indications:Local time hand (top hand) and minute hand in the center
Home time hand (lower hand) in the center
Seconds hand in the center
Date hand at 6 o'clock
Indications in window:
Day/night indication for local time at 9 o'clock (LOCAL)
Day/night indication for home time at 3 o'clock (HOME)
Concealer: Date between 6am and 7am
Pushbuttons: Local time advance by one hour jumps at 8 o'clock
Local time setback by one-hour jumps at 10 a.m.
Patent registration for the security system: locking of the buttons by rotating a quarter of a turn.
Patek Philippe stamp, read more on patek.com
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