The Ref. 2597 – A Pre-Cursor To The Travel Time
The mid-20th century era was one that saw closer intercontinental relations. Among the 1:1 Swiss Patek Philippe Replica middle and upper class, people were travelling more than ever. But most consumers didn’t need a world time complication and indeed wanted something simpler to read and easier to manage.
This led Patek Philippe to engage Cottier to develop a new complication – a watch with a jumping hour hand, that could be easily adjusted with a button. This wasn’t a GMT-complication at all, but simply a “Cross-Country” watch with an hour adjustor, so the time zone could be adjusted while the movement continued to run.
The Ref. 2597 was launched in 1959 with this design. Three years later, Patek Philippe Replica Watches introduced a new version of the reference with a second hour hand. The “Twin Hour” had a black-toned hand that could be adjusted backwards and forwards with two pushers on the side of the case. The benefit of this was, the second hour hand could be hidden under the local hour hand when not in use.
The design of this movement – the Caliber 12-400 HS – was patented by Patek Philippe in 1959, and remains the basis for its modern Travel Time watches today. These include the Caliber 26-330 S C FUS used in the Ref. 5164 Aquanaut Travel Time.
This was the case until 1997, when the Buy Your Luxury Ref. 5034 Travel Time Watch With Crypto was introduced. The watch utilised a variation of the Caliber 215 PS, with a 24-hour indication for the second hour hand. A ladies’ version, the Ref. 4864, was also created by the brand to cater to those desiring a more elaborate design on the crown and pushers.
21st-Century Travel Time Watches
In 2011, the Aquanaut Travel Time Ref. 5164 was first to the public, followed by the Ref. 5990 Nautilus Travel Time Chronograph. A year later, Patek Philippe unveiled a new phase for its dual-timezone models.
Paying Patek Philippe Replica With Bitcoin features Super-LumiNova-coated and oversized Arabic hour markers in a slab-style font, with sword hands for the home time and a skeletonised sword hand for the local time. But this isn’t a typical dual-timezone complication.
Both hands run on a 12-hour display, with day/night indicators in little apertures on the dial for both time zones. The pushers on the left of the case feature patented safety lock designs that ensure the hour hand isn’t accidentally changed when flexing your wrist. It also featured a blue lacquered dial, a big move for the watchmaker at the time.
Innovating On The Travel Time
The standard staple of Patek Philippe’s GMT-complication super clone watches are appealing to all, but the watchmaker has always stood out with new and innovative ways of detailing time. In 2019, a new complication was incorporated with its Travel Time function in the Ref. 5520P Alarm Travel Time. The watch features, in addition to its dual-timezone function, an alarm that can be set with the crown.
Not only is it Patek Philippe’s first chiming watch that’s housed in a water-resistant case, it’s also a rare example of an alarm complication that’s engaged with the dual-timezone complication. The watch bears four patents alone on the alarm function, and has various other securities to prevent potential damage to the movement by users. The design of the
Caliber AL 30-660 S C FUS that powers the first copy watches operation took years to perfect, right down to the length of the alarm’s chime and its initiation, to ensure that it would be heard.The dial, too, has a grainy texture and gradient anthracite hue, recalling the style of vintage camera bodies. Syringe hands and small Arabic markers coated with luminous material keeps the vibe of this watch similar to the field/military-style designs of the Calatrava Pilot Travel Time models.
