Today, Pilot-style watches are an essential component of the Patek Philippe collections.
The range, which includes limited editions and grand complications, was inspired by the pilot and military watches created by the Manufacture in the years leading up to World War II.
First introduced in 2015, with the Calatrava Pilot Travel Time Ref. 5524G, the intention was to create a fully functional watch for modern times.
The legacy for Patek Philippe’s Pilot watches is epitomized by two historic and unique aviator hour-angle dial or siderometer wristwatches, dating from 1936.
Both wristwatches have a unique feature; the hour hand rotates once in 24-hours while pointing the degrees of arc onto the center circle divided into 360 degrees.
Pilots once used siderometer watches to determine their position according to the stars; they could calculate their exact longitude and latitude using a radio signal, a sextant, and a siderometer.
The watches are displayed in the Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva.
"What makes the Pilot so exciting for the collector is that it is not a part of a family of models; it is just a piece of great watchmaking for the sake of it."
Nick Foulkes, Author of the Patek Philippe Authorized Biography, shares his insightful perspective on Pilot watches and the Patek Philippe Ref. 5524G Calatrava Pilot Travel Time.
This first Calatrava Pilot Travel Time launched in 2015, with Ref. 5524 and was later followed by a number of additions, including a medium-sized counterpart (Ref.7234R), two limited edition pieces (Ref. 5522A and Ref. 7234A) created to celebrate the New York and Singapore Grand Exhibitions.
A unique titanium version donated to the Children Action auction (Ref. 5524T) and the Grand Complication - the Alarm Travel Time Ref. 5520P.
Calatrava Pilot Travel Time Refs. 5524G & 5524R (Large-size - 42mm)
The Ref. 5524G in white gold was introduced in 2015, followed by the rose gold model in 2018.
The self-winding caliber 324 S C FUS movement features a second time zone and a date display this is synchronised with the respective local time.
Discover more about the Ref. 5524Calatrava Pilot Travel Time Ref. 7234G & 7234R (Medium-size – 37.5mm)
The medium-size Calatrava Pilot Travel Time Ref. 7234 in white gold or rose gold was created to fit smaller, feminine wrists and to appeal to the taste for smaller-style watches.
The first self-winding Travel Time model in the Manufacture’s collection proposed for ladies.
Discover more about the Ref. 7234RAlarm Travel Time Ref. 5520P
Launched in 2019, the Patek Philippe Ref. 5520P Alarm Travel Time embraces the aesthetic established by the two time zones Ref. 5524G with the addition of a 24-hour alarm mechanism, with a digital display of the alarm time.
The self-winding movement, caliber AL 30-660 S C FUS, was created specifically for the Ref. 5520P.
Comprised of 574 parts, its development has resulted with four patent applications for the alarm functions: an anti-backlash mechanism for programming the alarm time, the alarm logic functions, the digital alarm display and the alarm winding deactivation.
Mr. Philip Barat, Head of Watch Development at Patek Philippe explains the functions of the Alarm Travel Time Ref. 5520P.
Discover more about the Alarm Travel Time Ref. 5520P in our TechNews series, a range of films created to provide easily comprehensible, in-depth insights into the design and functionality of Patek Philippe’s horological mechanisms.
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