THE new Calatrava Pilot Travel Time 5524G-010 joins the lineage of travel watches created by Patek Philippe since 2015.
It takes up the technical features of the preceding versions of Reference 5524, beginning with the 5524G-001, the first of the newcomers, with its white-gold case and deep blue dial.
In 2018, Reference 5524R-001 offered a version in rose gold, its brown sunburst dial with a black gradient rim: a warmer, more classic interpretation of the pilot watch. The same year, the unique piece Reference 5524T-010, created for the charitable auction Children Action, caught the eye with its case in titanium and its black dial featuring a vertical satin-brushed finish.
Reference 5524G-010 returns to white gold but with the distinction of a softer, more modern aesthetic. This subtle interpretation, blending tradition with modernity, showcases the manufacturer’s constant, extreme devotion to fine workmanship. It presents a dial in ivory lacquer, its legibility optimised by applied numerals in blackened white gold with a luminescent coating. Sword-shaped hands in charcoal-gray white gold contribute to the balance between functionality and elegance.
Beating within its 42mm case, the calibre 26-330 S C FUS self-winding movement with a second time zone and local date ensures easy, legible display of the Travel Time function. The pierced hand points to home time while the solid hand with its luminescent coating indicates local time. Each of the two time zones has a day/night indicator, positioned respectively at 9 o’clock and 3 o’clock. Local time is adjusted intuitively by means of two lateral pushers at 8 o’clock (+1 hour at each pressure) and 10 o’clock (-1 hour at each pressure).
The date displayed by a hand at 6 o’clock adjusts automatically backwards or forwards according to local time. A patented isolator system disconnects the time-zone mechanism from the base movement during adjustment of local time so as not to disturb the movement when the latter is running.
Furthermore, manipulation of the pushers is secured by another patented system to prevent any risk of the movement’s being put out of order. Local time can only be adjusted once the pushers have been released by turning them a quarter-turn. After use the pushers are locked by turning them another quarter-turn to ensure that they remain inactive.
This movement comprising 290 parts is equipped with a Gyromax balance oscillating at 28800 semi-oscillations per hour (4 Hz) with a Spiromax balance spring in Silinvar. The unparalleled qualities of this material, a silicon derivative (lightness, resistance to temperature fluctuations, insensitivity to magnetic fields) together with the patented spring design, ensure the high reliability and extreme rate accuracy stipulated by the Patek Philippe Seal; namely a tolerance of no more than –1/+2 seconds per day. A transparent case-back in sapphire crystal affords a private view of the architecture and the painstaking finishes lavished on this calibre, with its rotor in 21K gold adorned with circular Geneva striping and its bridges with Geneva stripes and chamfered edges.
The Calatrava Pilot Travel Time 5524G-010 is worn on a strap in a composite material adorned with a textile motif, in khaki green with contrasting black topstitching. It is secured by a clevis prong buckle in white gold, inspired by the buckles of the harnesses worn by pilots to keep their survival kits and parachutes readily deployable.
Patek Philippe’s boutique is located in Hall 6 at the BJC Pavilion.
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