While the hearts of the world’s Patek Philippe enthusiasts palpitate over the various Nautilus and Aquanaut models, with waiting lists for them measured in epochs, the maestri Genevois have quietly been turning the evergreen Calatrava into a wide-ranging family of hugely desirable timepieces.

The Calatrava, which has been with us for 91 years, still evokes images of a hyper-discreet dress watch, despite it having appeared in various styles and with an assortment of complications. That is all set to change, however, especially once the fanbase gets to see the latest models.

While the buzz around the white-gold, time-and-date-only Calatrava 6007G has been astounding, owing in no small part to its suitability as a sport/dress watch and the availability of three types of dial finish and a trio of colour accents – yellow, red or sky blue – another new Calatrava is set to exploit the travel business’s possible return to quasi-normality. It’s so handsome that it might tempt those with wanderlust away from the more athletic 6007G.

Providing a fresh take on how to display 24 hours, the Reference 5224R-001 Travel Time adds a dual time zone to the hours, minutes and seconds. Already known for its elegant world timers, having been one of the first maisons to offer a wristwatch capable of showing all the world’s time zones, Patek Philippe ‘is now expanding its range of travel watches’ by adding this function to the Calatrava.

The company has fitted it with a new movement, the self-winding calibre 31-260 PS FUS 24H, which is visible through a transparent sapphire-crystal back. It has evolved from the 31-260 ultra-thin self-winding base calibre launched in 2011, one of its attractions being the patented system for correctinglocal time via the crown.

In keeping with the elegance of a watch that first appeared in1932, and which established the concept of understated elegance, the new Calatrava 5224R-001 eschews the fussiness of most world timers, which, by definition, must feature crowded dials. Whether employing subsidiary dials or city names around the circumference, clutter seems unavoidable if displaying all the necessary data.

Instead, the 5224R-001’s third hand – seconds are shown with a subdial – is a skeletal form that does not upset the watch’s innate minimalism. This “syringe”-shaped hand points to 24 indicators, even numbers alternating with bar-type indices. To best serve the reading of the main time, “12” is positioned at the top, as with a conventional 12 o’clock location.

As Patek Philippe explains, it has ‘chosen to place noon at 12 o’clock, rather than at 6 o’clock as is usually the case, thereby ensuring excellent legibility throughout the daytime hours’. The “24” of the second time zone is thus located at the 6 o’clock position.

So handsome is the 5224R-001 Travel Time that owners blessed with more than one watch might find it their quotidian choice, even when not on the move.

It is housed in a rose-gold case with curved lugs, surrounding a navy-blue dial. All of the dial fitments are in rose gold and applied by hand, including the aforementioned numerals and hour markers, with five-minute intervals marked by cabochons. The strap is in a complementary shade of blue, with contrasting cream stitching.

Should one require something bolder than the decidedly subtle 5224R-001, two models join it from the more macho side of the family, its Calatrava Pilot siblings.

Since 2015, Patek Philippe has issued these larger, more robust Calatravas inspired by models created for aviators in the 1930s. The new 5924G-001 with a sunburst blue-grey dial, and the 5924G-010 with a khaki green lacquered dial, are the first chronographs in the Pilot line, both augmented by the Travel Time function, and with date indication.

Luckily for Patek’s legions of aficionados, the various Calatravas aren’t mutually exclusive. Perhaps the only arbiter is whether you’re travelling in the first-class section or the cockpit.

patek.com