This week I was lucky enough to spend some time with the Patek Philippe Calatrava Pilot Travel Time, reference 5524G. When someone in the office throws you the keys to their Ferrari and says “there you go”, you don’t need to be asked twice. Does this watch deserve your attention? After all, it’s available to buy at most Patek retailers. There’s no waiting list. So is it any good then? Let’s find out.
Patek Philippe Calatrava Pilot Travel Time – 5524G
White or Rose Gold
The 5524G is presented to you in white gold, hence the G part of the name. Also available, the 5524R is in Rose Gold, Patek making it very easy to distinguish in the model reference, unlike some brands we could mention.
Why white gold and not gold looking gold? It’s a good question. I tried on and loved the 5524R a couple of years back. Not to buy obviously, just because I could. I adored the sun burst chocolate dial and the warm rose gold case, but this is a lot of watch and a little too much gold for my pasty complexion.
There is a better way to enjoy the luxury of gold without drawing attention to yourself. I present the case for white gold. To most, you’re just wearing another steel watch, but to you, and those who know, and let’s face it, there aren’t many, will recognise this under the radar choice. Not as hardy or scratch resistant as steel, but that’s missing the point.
Rolex does this well also with models like the GMT Master 2, where a subtle colour change to the dial is the only indication your are wearing something substantially more expensive.
This may be an available watch, but it’s not common, and it’s not a Nautilus or Aquanaut, so wont draw attention to itself, especially as it is here in white gold.
pilot style watch
Patek Philippe refers to this range as Pilot Style watches and inspired by the pilot and military watches it produced prior to World War 2. Patek would refer you back to 2 particular aviator watches from 1936 that have 24 hour hour hands, so one rotation per day rather than every 12 hours. The hour hand pointing at degrees of an arc from the graduated 360 degree circle at it’s centre. It is said this can be used to determine position according to the stars, but I have no idea how.
This is an unusual range from Patek Philippe, known mainly for delicate, but incredibly well finished dress watches. Not very well received at it’s launch in 2015. Perhaps this was to introduce a new range of sports style watches at a time when the Nautilus and Aquanaut weren’t setting the world on fire. Something to appeal to younger buyers they said. Maybe in steel at a lower price point that may have worked, but there’s more buyers out there in 2022 willing to pay for a steel Nautilus at more than double retail than this honest, gold example.
Perfectly sized for your wrist
This watch is lovely. The precisely 42mm case sits very well on my 6 ¾” wrist. Exactly 50mm lug to lug is the perfect span and being just under 11mm slips comfortably under any shirt sleeve. It comes on a brown calf leather strap with white gold pin buckle. I’m also told a blue leather strap is also included in the package, so the quick release spring bars are a welcome addition. I did find this strap to be large and still loose on the last hole. I have no doubt smaller straps would be available.
Sophisticated Design
The slightly grained, blue varnished dial is large and legible as any pilots watch should be and in some light almost black in appearance. Patek have kept the dial relatively clean with minimal text. Patek Philippe Geneve printed at the 12 o’clock and Local and Home night and day windows. The white gold applied indices and blued cathedral style hands are filled with luminous material and shine like a torch after dark.
They have an off white hue that contrasts nicely with the other text and gives the overall appearance a warmer and more interesting aesthetic, avoiding all-white indices like a Speedmaster or going all in on fake patina. The second hand has a nicely executed skeletonise counter weight that is blued with a lollipop style marker on the end of the tapered white hand, sweeping the railroad style minute track.
The indices themselves hark back to those 1930’s models and very much like those found on the Zenith Pilot, some might say this watch echoes.
But unlike the Zenith, we have some welcome real world features such as the massive radial date wheel with the quick set access by a pusher located between the lugs at 6 o’clock.
Modular calibre
This watch has the same automatic winding 324 SC FUS Calibre as the Aquanaut Travel Time. Available in steel at a poultry £31,430 if you have the connections to actually get one.
Where the Aquanaut has a symmetry about it with the GMT pushers mirroring the crown guards, the Calatrava Pilot Travel Time has 2 additional crowns at the 8 and 10 o’clock positions. Anyone with who has an emotional reaction to Omegas helium escape valves would probably bail at this point, but I think they give the case a bit more interest and will spend most of their time tucked up inside your sleeve doing no harm.
These pushers, unlock with a quarter twist to reveal the GMT ghost hand. A skeletonise hand that remains your home time, as the GMT hand would on your Rolex GMT Master 2 or Tudor GMT. It is only revealed if you cross an international time zone at which point you can move the solid hour hand backwards or forwards depending on which way the plan is flying to adjust to local time.
But where as a normal GMT hand makes 1 rotation every 24 hours, this one tracks the regular hour hand every 12 hours. Patek have seen fit to add the Local and Home windows to help you determine if it’s night or day in either location. You may ask why you’d need to know if it’s night or day at your current location, but you could use the local hand to track time in the New York or Sydney office as well. I love the hidden until needed aspect of this feature.
Display Case back
The reverse of the watch reveals a fully open case back. At only 31mm in diameter, I would have liked to have seen a movement that fits the 42mm case, like an IWC Portugueser, but this does give the owner a bit more gold in the case back and allows the same calibre to be used in the smaller models. I’m also a sucker for a micro rotor, but you can’t have everything.
As you’d expect, we have the usual beautiful finishing and hand assembly of a Patek Philippe calibre, complete with the gold rotor and balance, the Patek Philippe seal and those hand applied mirrored edges to the bridges and plates where we have Geneva strips on the bridges and engine turning to the base plate.
We have 29 jewels, up to 45 hours of power reserve, that 21k gold winding rotor and anti-magnet properties thanks to the Spiromax, silicon balance spring. With regards the Patek Philippe Seal. No longer Geneva Hallmarked or COSC certified, Patek offers it’s own standard of quality that applies to the overall quality of the cased up watch, case finishing, bracelet and clasp with a movement accuracy of -3/+2 seconds per day.
The calibre does look delicate, if very well made, and the owner should be mindful of the service interventions required to keep this one running at it’s best. This is not a Rolex that can be run for 10 years between before seeing new oil.
Summing up
Overall, I like this watch a lot. It wears well despite it’s size and doesn’t feel over dressed, it’s an understated look with only the heft of the gold and a glance down at the manufacturers logo to remind you of the price paid, and the special club you are now part of. It plays smart and casual and could sit nicely in a collection of traditional sports and dress watches. If you think the IWC perpetual calendar is too cheap at £34,000, this could be the watch for you.
A small note of caution though. That availability can come at a price. Not all ships rise equally and I have seen examples of this one advertised for £10,000 less if you’re willing to play just outside of the factory warranty period. However, for those playing the long game, which should be the default for watch collectors, who knows if this ugly duckling will become a future classic. If I had £43 grand at my disposal, I’m not sure I’d sink it all into one watch, but it’s certainly not a bad place to go, and you won’t be disappointed.
Calatrava Pilot Travel Time specifictions
| Price (February 2022) | £42,810 |
| Reference | 5524G001 |
| Case | White Gold |
| Strap | Brown and Blue Calf Leather 21mm Lug Width White Gold Pin Buckle |
| Diameter | 42mm |
| Lug to Lug | 50mm |
| Height | 11mm |
| Calibre | 324 S C FUS Self Winding |
| GMT Travel Time, Local and Home Night Day Indicator Radial Date | |
| 29 Jewels | |
| 28,800 Vph (4Hz) | |
| Power Reserve | 35 – 45 Hours |
