Big, chunky and designed for the cockpit… probably isn’t what you expect from Patek Philippe’s dressy Calatrava collection. But while ostensibly part of that usually formal collection, the Calatrava Pilot Travel Time has been an idiosyncratic anomaly since 2015 and, for 2025 is undergoing an update in the form of the Ref. 5224G-010.
As I mentioned, while the Calatrava Pilot Travel Time looks like a watch drawn from the early days of military aviation between the Great Wars, it’s actually far more recent. It was, in fact, released at the height of horological engorgement when diameters were getting a touch extreme. At the time, it didn’t go down well. How could it? It’s so… un-Patek. But as time passed it became a cult icon amongst collectors, especially when later pilots’ releases ensured it was less of an outlier.
Ten years on and we probably should have predicted a refreshed version of the Calatrava Pilot Travel Time, if we weren’t too busy stabbing incorrectly in the dark around Rolex.
I was only just around when the initial Calatrava Pilot Travel Time came out, but I clearly remember the furore. Oh, what a difference a decade makes. 42mm of white gold is big and weighty, but at 10.78mm thick it’s not too unwieldy at all. Compared to other Patek models, sure, but stack it up against any other militaristically-styled Pilots’ pieces and it’s pretty svelte.
The main change however is the dial, which has been given an ivory lacquered makeover that I love. It’s less intense than the black of the 2015 original, much softer visually than the other Patek pilot’s pieces. The ivory works incredibly well with the off-white lumed indexes – which themselves are blackened white gold because Patek Philippe – for a vintage tone-on-tone look. It’s gorgeous. That said, the sparsity of the dial, the relative straightforwardness of the handset (including the skeletonised travel time hand) still feels very different from the Patek we all know and love.
Inside the case is the calibre 26-330 S C FUS. That means a Gyromax balance with a Spiromax hairspring – basically, silicon. Or Silvinar if you’re a Patek Philippe purist. It’s finished to a painfully perfect degree of course, but more important is the patented jump hour system. That’s what the left-hand crowns are for, in case you were wondering. It’s perfect for hopping across timezones on the regular – or just hiding the travel time hand behind the local hours if you want to clean up the look a bit. The alignment is so micron-perfect you’d never know.
The final touch is a khaki strap that works incredibly well with the creamy dial. Rather than actual canvas which can be scratchy and uncomfortable, this is actually a composite number with a textile pattern. On the one hand, it feels great on the wrist, on the other, the texture adds to the kind of casual vibe the new watch is going for. It’s not a militaristic pilots’ piece.
The 5224G though is still a Patek Philippe, not to mention a big chunk of white gold. So the £52,180 price tag is to be expected. But as a Patek pocket pick, I’d prefer this bad boy to any Nautilus. Or Cubitus.
Price and Specs:
Model:
Patek
Philippe Calatrava Pilot Travel Time
Ref:
5524G
Case:
42mm
diameter x 10.78mm thickness, white gold
Dial:
Ivory
lacquered
Water resistance:
30m
(3 bar)
Movement:
Patek
Philippe calibre 26‑330 S C FUS, automatic, 30 jewels
Frequency:
28,800
vph (4 Hz)
Power reserve:
45h
Functions:
Hours,
minutes, seconds, date, travel time
Strap:
Khaki
green composite material with white gold clevis prong buckle
Price:
£52,180
More details at Patek Philippe.
Oracle Time