PATEK PHILIPPE – Complications World Time Watch Ref. 5230 Gold 20th Anniversary
A grand tradition totally up to date
The Patek Philippe World Time watch, also referred to as Heure Universelle by collectors, has ranked
among the manufacture's most popular complicated wristwatches for nearly eighty years. Because
some time zone designations have recently changed or were replaced with new ones, Baselworld is
the ideal platform for Patek Philippe to present the new World Time watch Ref. 5230, which is
replacing all previous models. The changes were a welcome opportunity to subtly rework the case,
dial, and hand designs as well.
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It may seem simple to divide the planet into 24 time zones with 15 degrees of longitude each, but the
political process behind it is convoluted. Some time zones have meanwhile been assigned different city names, for instance Dubai instead of Riyadh or Brisbane instead of Noumea, to mention only two. Formerly, Moscow was located in the UTC+4 zone, but the Russian capital has now shifted one hour closer to Western Europe, "relocating" to UTC+3.
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From time to time, such changes make it necessary to modify the place names on the city scales of World Time watches. This is why Patek Philippe is discontinuing the production of its legacy World Time watches and launching the new Ref. 5230 with the updated, globally valid city names.
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A new design for a new world time
For Patek Philippe, this was also an ideal cue for reworking the appearance of the World Time watch, subtly retouching details to give it a truly contemporary and distinctive personality. As regards the Calatrava case of the new Ref. 5230 in white or rose gold 5N, changes were applied among others to the winglet-style lugs and the narrow, smoothly polished bezel that attractively sets the watch apart from its predecessors. The hand shapes have been given a new look as well: Instead of the venerable ringed hour hand and Dauphine minute hand, the Ref. 5230 now sports a pierced hour hand with a silhouette that evokes the famous "Southern Cross" constellation, and the minute hand features a lozenge-shaped contour. Both hands have a sharp center ridge between the carefully lapped, beveled flanks. Like the applied baton hour markers, they are crafted from 18K white or rose gold 5N to match the case.
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The center for rare handcrafts
This title is deliberately ambiguous. It refers to the Patek Philippe manufacture which since it was
founded in 1839 has always been an important center for the pinnacle in decorative handcrafts as well.
Then, it also means the centers of World Time watch dials that are perfect stages for traditional forms
of craftsmanship. Patek Philippe World Time watches decorated with polychrome cloisonné enamel
maps on their dials are nothing short of legendary. The centers of other World Time watches feature
hand-guilloched decors, like the black dial center of the new Ref. 5230 with its filigreed woven pattern.
The inspiration for this guilloched basket weave motif was taken from a precious pocket watch on
display at the Patek Philippe Museum, except that its guilloché was originally coated with blue flinqué
enamel. Patek Philippe still masters these nearly extinct handcrafts because the manufacture carefully
preserves the required skills and know-how and assures that they are handed down from one
generation to the next. This also applies to the equipment. For example, the manually controlled rose
engine needed to guilloche dials is almost one hundred years old. But it has been constantly serviced
and works as reliably today as when it was first commissioned.
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The watch for frequent travelers
World Time watches are more important than ever in our globally networked lives. We fly around the
globe, have online conversations with people all over the world, pursue international trade relations,
and share ideas on a worldwide scale. So it's good to know the time in the places to which we are
traveling or where people live with whom we communicate. Patek Philippe World Time watches fulfill
this function in an exemplary way: They show all 24 world time zones at a glance. The local time is
most prominently displayed for the time zone whose assigned city name is just above the small red
arrow at 12 o'clock – in the classic manner with the hour and minute hands. In the other 23 zones, the
times are directly readable on the 24-hour ring that rotates counterclockwise within the city disk. The
minutes indicated by the minute hand are the same for all time zones.
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We owe this ingenious functionality to an invention in the 1930s by Genevan watchmaker Louis Cottier.
The mechanism was later refined and patented by Patek Philippe. When traveling into a different time
zone, the pusher in the case at 10 o'clock is pressed as often as needed to align the respective city
name with the red arrow at 12 o'clock.
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Each time the pusher is pressed, the hour hand will advance by one hour while the city disk and the 24-hour ring will move by one increment in the counterclockwise direction. During this process, the time-zone mechanism is uncoupled from the movement so that the accurate progression of the minute hand and the amplitude of the balance remain unaffected. Consequently, the time in all 24 zones is always displayed with the precision specified by the directives of the Patek Philippe Seal.
Heritage in precision
The precise rate of the watch and the user-friendliness of the World Time functions are guaranteed by
the Patek Philippe manufacture caliber 240 HU – an ultra-thin self-winding mechanical movement that
wrote horological history. Despite its elaborate time-zone automatic winding mechanisms, it is a mere
3.88 mm thick, ideal for a slender, elegant World Time watch. Thanks to a design patented in 1977, the
size of the winding rotor was massively reduced, allowing it to be fully integrated into the level of the
movement bridges. Even though it is so compact, the rotor can still generate ample winding power
because it is crafted from solid 22K gold to increase its mass and torque. In the course of the years,
the movement was continually optimized and paired with a World Time mechanism.
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It is decidedly modern, as evidenced by its patented Spiromax® balance spring. It has a power reserve of at least 48 hours, and with a tolerance of -3 to +2 seconds per day, its rate accuracy exceeds all customary chronometer standards. The finissage of the watch fully complies with all requirements of the Patek Philippe Seal. The bridges are chamfered and decorated with Geneva striping. The gold mini-rotor has the same striping alongside an engraving of the Calatrava cross, the manufacture's emblem. The plate is hand-decorated with perlage, and the golden brass wheels are countersunk and have chamfered spokes. These accents are complemented with the gold-filled movement engravings on the rhodiumed bridges and the sparkling highlights of 10 of the 35 ruby jewels. With the new Patek Philippe World Time watch Ref. 5230, the beautiful craftsmanship can be admired through the sapphire-crystal case
back.
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The new Ref. 5230 replaces all previous models of the manufacture's World Time range and is
available in two versions: as the Ref. 5230R in 18K rose gold and as the Ref. 5230G in 18K white gold.
Both have the same dial with a white city disk, a 24-hour ring with day/night color segments and
sun/moon symbols, as well as a black center with an elaborate, hand-guilloched basket weave pattern.
The only differences are the applied hour markers and the hands, which are made of the same 18K
gold as the case. Both versions are worn on a hand-stitched alligator strap with large square scales
and a Calatrava fold-over clasp. The strap is shiny black with an 18K white-gold clasp for the white-
gold model and shiny chocolate brown with an 18K rose-gold clasp for the rose-gold model.
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Technical Specifications
Model: Patek Philippe World Time watch Ref. 5230G-001 White Gold 38.5 mm
Model: Patek Philippe World Time watch Ref. 5230R-001 Rose Gold 38.5 mm
Movement
Caliber 240 HU
Self-winding mechanical movement, display of 24 time zones, day/night indication
Diameter: 27.50 mm
Height: 3.88 mm
Number of parts: 239
Number of jewels: 33
Power reserve: Min. 48 hours
Centrifugal mass: 22K gold minirotor, unidirectionally winding
Balance: Gyromax®
Frequency: 21,600 semi-oscillations per hour (3 Hz)
Balance spring: Spiromax®
Balance spring stud: Adjustable
Patent: CH 595 653
Patent: CH 693 191
Functions
Two-position crown:
– Pulled out: To set the time
– Pushed in: To wind the watch
Local time selector: Pusher at 10 o'clock
Synchronized adjustment of displays in one-hour steps for the hour hand and 1/24th counter clockwise increments for the city disk and the 24-hour ring
Hallmark
Patek Philippe Seal
Displays
Local time in hours and minutes
City disk with 24 place names
24-hour ring with day/night indication in colors and sun/moon symbols
Case
- 18K white gold
- 5N rose gold
Water resistant to 30 meters (3 bar)
Case dimensions: Diameter: 38.50 mm
Length (across lugs): 46.91 mm
Width (9 to 3 o'clock incl. crown): 41.45 mm
Thickness (crystal to display back): 10.23 mm
Width between lugs: 20 mm
Dial
3-zone dial:
- City disk printed black
- 24-hour ring with day/night indication in color and sun/moon symbols (day: black numerals on silvery background; night: white numerals on black background)
- Center hand-guilloched with basket weave pattern
Strap
Hand-stitched alligator with large square scales
Shiny black with Calatrava fold-over clasp in 18K white gold for the white-gold model Shiny chocolate brown with Calatrava fold-over clasp in 18K rose gold 5N for the rose-gold model
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PATEK PHILIPPE SA GENEVE
Chemin du Pont-du-Centenaire 141 – 1228 Plan-les-Ouates
P.O. Box 2654 – CH - 1211 Geneva 2 - Switzerland
Tel. + 41 22 884 20 20 – Fax + 41 22 884 25 47
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www.Patek.com
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