A Watch For Travellers Of The Modern Era
Inspired by their aviator watches from the 1930s, the Calatrava Pilot Travel Time rounds out the Patek Philippe watch family. We take a closer look at two of the later models to their 2015 predecessor which has already established itself as a modern classic
In 2015, Patek Philippe surprised aficionados by launching a watch with a highly unusual design as regards the prominent case as well as the dial with large white numerals and luminous hands that contrast crisply against the dark background. With its name and functional features, the timepiece recalled the first aviator’s watches. Patek Philippe also took inspiration from two aviator’s watches that had been crafted in the manufacture in 1936 and are now exhibited at the Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva.
They were very special siderometer (hour-angle) watches that allowed pilots to easily, precisely, and swiftly determine their current positions. The Ref. 5524G Calatrava Pilot Travel Time was a remarkable homage to aviation pioneers and the grand epoch of aerial conquest to which the Genevan manufacture can take credit for many contributions.
By far not content simply with a new edition, Patek Philippe paid tribute to its own heritage with a highly contemporary interpretation of the icon. Instead of black, the usual dial colour of aviator’s watches, a very special and elegant blue was chosen, offering an excellent contrast for optimised legibility.
The emergence of this new face in the Patek Philippe collections was highly successful with men who appreciated a decidedly technical timepiece with a grand taille diameter of 42mm, all the more as it featured all the facets of artisanship, precision, and timeless elegance of a typical Patek Philippe watch. It also marked the birth of a new family of timepieces with an eminently recognisable design. In 2018, Patek Philippe reinterpreted the original Calatrava Pilot Travel Time with a rose-gold version and a brown dial. In the same year, the manufacture launched the rose-gold model in the medium format (37.5mm) that was destined for feminine wrists but also welcomed by men who prefer somewhat smaller watches. In 2019, the pilot style took centre stage again with the Ref. 5520 Alarm Travel Time grand complication.
With these introductions, pilot-style watches in just a few years established themselves as key models of Patek Philippe’s collections. They subtly embody the combination of tradition and innovation shared by all of the manufacture’s watches, presenting themselves as new classics of contemporary timepiece design just like, before them, the inscrutable Golden Ellipse as well as the iconic Nautilus and Aquanaut. This success was reinforced by the launch of the mid-sized Ref. 7234G-001 Calatrava Pilot Travel Time in white gold.
Ref. 7234G-001 Calatrava Pilot Travel Time
A medium format for the white-gold model
As a medium-sized version of the Ref. 5524G launched in 2015, the Ref. 7234G Calatrava Pilot Travel Time has a diameter of 37.5mm to fit women’s and men’s wrists. The round Calatrava case in white gold is sleek with a flat and slightly bevelled bezel as well as a case band that merges almost seamlessly with the strap lugs.
The blue lacquered dial, inspired by aviator’s watches, is highly legible even in the dark thanks to applied white-gold numerals filled with a white luminous coating and broad luminous baton hands made of blued white gold. The face is decidedly technical yet timelessly elegant.
The Ref. 7234G is worn on a shiny navy blue calfskin strap secured with a clevis prong buckle in white gold. It is reminiscent of the harnesses that allowed pilots to keep their parachutes and survival kits readily deployable. The scope of delivery includes a second calfskin strap in vintage brown with contrast stitching much like the belts for classic pilot overalls.
This wristwatch for ladies and gentlemen comes in addition to the Ref. 5524G with a diameter of 42mm, making an ideal pair. Both formats of the Calatrava Pilot Travel Time are also available in rose gold with brown black-gradated dials (Refs. 5524R and 7234R).
Ref. 7234R-001 Calatrava Pilot Travel Time
The first self-winding Travel Time in a ladies’ wristwatch format
As a feminine interpretation of the Calatrava Pilot Travel Time, which in 2015 was launched as a men’s wristwatch in a white-gold case with a blue dial, the Ref. 7234R-001 (launched in 2018) combines a rose-gold case with a brown dial and a subtle black gradation toward the periphery. With a second time zone and a local-time date, this watch is also the first self-winding Travel Time model in Patek Philippe’s collection for women. Reflecting Patek Philippe’s tradition in aviator’s watches, the dial is superbly legible. It features applied, sculpted rose-gold numerals with a white luminous coating as well as broad luminous baton-style hands.
The pierced hour hand keeps track of home time. The two time zones are complemented with day/night indicators in apertures at 9 and 3 o’clock. As long as the owner is not on the go, the two hour hands are superposed. The two time-zone pushers are equipped with a patented safety lock that prevents unintended adjustments of the local time setting.
The Ref. 7234R-001 Calatrava Pilot Travel Time comes with a vintage brown calfskin strap secured with a rose-gold clevis prong buckle. It is reminiscent of the harnesses that allowed pilots to keep their survival kits readily deployable. The watch is also available in a men’s version with the Ref. 5524R-001.
Leonard Dews
Church Street, Blackpool FY1 1EW
01253 754940
leonarddews.co.uk
