New Patek Philippe Word Time Created for Frequent Travelers

The Patek Philippe Word Time is extremely popular among frequent travelers and businessmen who appreciate sophisticated nature of mechanical watches. Now the company has developed a new version of the timepiece that features a slightly enlarged case, a smartly redesigned dial, and an unconventional ring-like hour hand.

Universal time was adopted at the International Meridian Conference held in Washington, D.C., in 1884. The world became officially divided into 24 time zones. Since that time watchmakers have been introducing clever ideas for displaying multiple time zones.

World Time Models Developed in the Past

The first Patek Philippe World Time wristwatch was unveiled in 1930. The timepiece was equipped with two rotating discs that allowed simultaneous display of the time in all 24 time zones.

Today, the watches created in the period of the 1930-60s are sold for astronomical prices at auctions. In 2000, the Patek Philippe workshops improved the functionality of the watch. They integrated a single-button mechanism in order to advance all displays at once when moving from one time zone to another. The rate accuracy of the movement was not affected by even one second. The watchmakers of the brand required four years to develop the patented mechanism that greatly contributed to the worldwide popularity of the World Time watch.

New World Time Version

Patek Philippe has developed the new version of the World Time watch specially for present day wanderers. The timepiece wins the hearts due to its fresh aesthetic appeal. The round case reveals the classic Calatrava style. It is crafted in either 18K rose gold or white gold. The diameter of the case grew from 37 to 39.5 mm.

The new Patek Philippe World Time offers enhanced readability. The timepiece boasts remarkably thin construction despite the complexity of its mechanism. The new dial was suggested by the first Ref. 1415 HU World Time watches dating back to the 1930s.

The enlarged size of the case gave the brand's watchmakers a chance to broaden the width of the exterior rotating disc that shows the 24 time zones. Thus, the names of the 24 reference cities became even more legible.

The center of the dial reveals a new guilloche sunburst pattern. The distinctive hour markers contribute to a dynamic, contemporary look of the timepiece. The unique ring-shaped hour hand reminds of historic Patek Philippe World Time watches, representing an exclusive feature of this type of timepiece. The shape of the hour hand symbolizes the globe, hinting at the cosmopolitan personality of the timepiece.

The new Patek Philippe Ref. 5130 sports a sapphire-crystal back. The white gold version goes on a hand-stitched, matte navy blue alligator strap, while the rose gold version is secured to the wrist with a matte dark brown strap. The timepiece has reinterpreted the Ref. 5110 unveiled in 2000.

Simple to Use

The Ref. 5130, equipped with a really complicated self-winding caliber 240 HU movement, is nevertheless really simple to use. In the center of the dial you will notice the hour and minute hands indicating local time. The center of the dial is encircled by two rotating discs. The outer disc features the names of the 24 cities standing for the 24 time zones. The visible part of the inner disc, turning counterclockwise, represents a graduated 24-hour ring. It features a dark segment and a moon symbol for the night hours and a bright segment with a sun symbol for the day hours.

Local time is displayed for the city, while the associated time zone is indicated by the red marker found at 12 o'clock. The time in any other time zone can be found on the 24-hour disc at the position directly opposite the corresponding city name.

The new Patek Philippe World Time watch is really useful for travelers traversing one or more time zones as the timepiece does not require any stops, cumbersome adjustments or time difference calculation between two locations. The only thing the owner of the watch has to do is to press the button at 10 o'clock as many times as it is required to align the city name in the destination time zone with the red arrow found at 12 o'clock. Each time the owner presses the button, the hour hand featuring local time advances by one hour, while the city disc and the 24-hour disc move by one interval counterclockwise.

Due to the patented coupling mechanism, the intervention described above bears no influence to the precise progression of the minute hand. The instant correction feature performing three commands with just one press of the button is an exclusive advantage of the Patek Philippe World Time watches.