Patek Philippe World Time

With the World Time, travelers always know what time it is both where they are and everywhere else in the world. This feature has transformed the World Time into a cult watch among wealthy globetrotters.

Unlike watches like the Rolex GMT-Master II, this Patek Philippe world time watch lacks an additional hour hand. A secondary hour hand makes one full revolution per day and requires a 24-hour scale around the edge of the dial. However, this common feature can only display a second time zone and not multiple time zones at once.

The World Time, on the other hand, displays the 24 most important time zones in the world simultaneously. This is made possible by two rotating rings that form the edge of the dial. The inner ring has a 24-hour scale, while the outermost ring has city names representing each time zone.

Patek Philippe crafts the cases – ranging from 36 to 40.2 mm in diameter – out of yellow, rose, or white gold. Some models even use platinum. What's more, the bezel of the women's model is adorned with 62 diamonds.

Are you looking for a luxury watch designed to be the ideal travel companion? The World Time from Patek Philippe is exactly what you need. This elegant dress watch displays the time not only in your current location but also in 24 different time zones around the world.

The reference number 5110 is the most affordable of the World Time watches. This series was introduced in 2000 and features timepieces measuring 37 mm in diameter. Plan to spend around 26,600 USD for a white gold watch in very good condition. Variants in rose gold or platinum cost a bit more, ranging from 32,400 to 34,700 USD.

The introduction of the ref. 5130 in 2006 saw the case grow to 39.5 mm. Once again, the white gold models are the least expensive at 32,400 to 34,700 USD. On the other hand, those in rose gold or platinum cost anywhere from 42,800 to 53,200 USD. The ref. 5131 is a particularly special model. The center of its dial features an intricate enamel representation of the Earth as viewed from the North Pole. Prices for this rose gold or platinum masterpiece sit between 115,000 and 172,000 USD.

When buying an older World Time watch, you should be careful to note whether the time zones are still accurate, as some have changed. The time difference between Moscow and Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) is now only three hours, but it used to be four. Additionally, some city names on the city ring have changed. Dubai has replaced Riyadh, for example.

Patek Philippe has a long tradition of creating world time watches. The Genevan manufacturer first brought this complication to market all the way back in the 1930s. At that time, Patek used a design from Louis Cottier, an independent watchmaker. He came up with the idea of using a central hand and two counterclockwise-rotating rings. The inner ring has a 24-hour scale, while the outer ring features 24 city names, each representing a different time zone.

The 24-hour ring displays the local time at the 12 o'clock position, while the city ring displays the name of an important city in the respective time zone above. London, New York, Moscow, Bangkok, Tokyo, and Sydney are all featured on the ring, as are the Azores in the Atlantic and the Marshall Islands in the Pacific.

If it's 10 AM in London, the World Time's rings show that it's 12 PM in Cairo, already 6 PM in Hong Kong, but only 7 AM in Buenos Aires. The 24-hour scale is colored light blue between 7 AM and 6 PM and dark blue from 7 PM to 6 AM, so that the wearer can more easily distinguish between day and night. A sun at 12 PM and a moon at 12 AM make the display even clearer.

The World Time shows off its greatest strength when you're on the road; you can quickly set the current local time using a push-piece at 10 o'clock. The hour hand moves ahead an hour every time you press it, and the city and 24-hour rings move a step back, counterclockwise. The wearer pushes the push-piece until the proper city and time are displayed on the rings at 12 o'clock. Patek Philippe is the only brand to offer this method of setting the time, where one push-piece controls both the hour hand and both rings.

Patek Philippe was founded in 1851. Antoni Patek (1811-1877), a Polish exile, began working with a French colleague, Adrien Philippe (1815-1894), in 1845. Philippe had recently invented the crown, which enabled pocket watches to be wound without a key.

Patek and Philippe traveled to the Great Exhibition in London in 1851. There, Queen Victoria bought two watches. The royal houses of Denmark and Italy joined their clientele soon thereafter. The New York jeweler Tiffany & Co. then ordered 130 watches. The first Patek Philippe wristwatch was made in 1868, and they received a patent for the first double chronograph in 1902. In 1925, they introduced the first wristwatch with a perpetual calendar, another of their many patents.

Brothers Jean and Charles Henri Stern began running the company in 1932. Previously, the Sterns had produced dials exclusively for Patek Philippe. After his father stepped down in 2009, Thierry Stern took over the company. Every year, around 50,000 watches leave the Patek Philippe production facilities in Geneva. Patek Philippe, like Rolex, is one of the few remaining independent luxury watch manufacturers.