World Time with date, ref. 5330G-001
Launched as a limited edition at the Patek Philippe grand exhibition “Watch Art” held in Tokyo in June 2023, Reference 5330 enters the manufacture’s regular collection. It is distinguished by a patented world first: a date display synchronized with local time; that is, the time in the time zone selected at the 12 o’clock position on the city disk and indicated by the center hands.
An innovative, patented differential
To make the user experience as practical and comfortable as possible, Patek Philippe tasked its engineers with coupling the date display mechanically with the local time with no need for correction. Meeting this challenge required that the date adjust automatically in the two situations entailing a change: past midnight, when the date advances to that of the following day; and when crossing the International Date Line (in the middle of the Pacific Ocean) from west to east, where the date goes back by a day.
To provide this useful function, the manufacture developed a new movement, caliber 240 HU C. A patented central differential system comprising two concentric star-type gear wheels manages the local-time date.
Original, legible displays
For the first time at Patek Philippe, the date display mode comprises a transparent hand made of glass with a hammer-shaped tip in red lacquer that moves along a transfer-printed scale from 1 to 31, to avoid this relatively static hand’s disturbing the legibility of the other information.
Character shows in its face
The Reference 5330G-001 stands out by its refined and highly distinctive appearance. Its opaline dial center in an elegant shade of blue-gray is adorned with a carbon motif. The 24-hour disk is subdivided into day and night zones, identified respectively by a small gilt sun on a silvered background symbolizing noon and a gilt crescent moon on a blue-gray ground symbolizing midnight. On the city disk, a red dot between Auckland and Midway marks the International Date Line.
