Patek Philippe World Time
Complicated watches, for many enthusiasts, represent the
zenith of the watchmaker’s art; here are engineering
miracles in miniature, enabling the wearer to know the exact
phase of the moon, the equation of time or the price of
fishcakes in Hong Kong (we jest).
Unfortunately, in our opinion, the majority of
complicated watches, by dint of all of their garish
extraneous dials and features, do not possess the necessary
aesthetic qualities to earn a place on The List. Substance
they may have, but style they almost always do not.
The Patek Philippe World Time 5110 is a rare exception,
though, and has made The List by offering impeccable
engineering wrapped in the kind of uncluttered elegance that
belies the complexity of the mechanism contained within.
At first glance it appears to be nothing more than a
standard single function timepiece, albeit one with more
detailed decoration on the dial than is usual, and an
additional push button at the ten o’ clock position. Closer
inspection, though, reveals that this apparent simplicity
disguises an unusual and brilliantly executed complication
that enables the wearer to easily switch between any one of
twenty four time zones without the need for additional
manipulation that might affect the accuracy of the watch.
The dial itself is arranged in three parts: the local
time is indicated on the central dial; the inner ring is
divided into 24 hours and the outer ring bears the names of
twenty four cities, each within its own time zone. To adjust
the time to a different time zone merely requires the wearer
to depress the button positioned at ten o’clock until the
requisite city is shown at twelve o’clock. The time in the
original time zone is now indicated by the 24 hour inner
ring. Crucially, this is all achieved without stopping the
movement of the seconds hand, which continues to keep time.
The movement itself, which bears the Seal of Geneva, is, of
course, an object of beauty, and can be viewed through the
sapphire crystal case back, which, although a nod towards
vanity, is, in our view, justified for an item of such
engineering excellence.
It is easy become carried away when choosing a Patek
Philippe and the end results can often leave the wearer
possessing a timepiece that too closely resembles something
that might hang loosely on the wrist of a South American
dictator. To avoid this, we would only recommend the white
gold or platinum World Time models, with the former winning
our ultimate vote due to the double advantage of it being
less expensive and having the more aesthetically pleasing
silver dial.
