A quest for constant innovationBASELWORLD 2015: The second time zone of Patek Philippe
For almost 80 years, Patek Philippe has defied time zones with disconcerting ease. In 1959, its patented Travel Time mechanism became its own legend, and in 1996 attained a new level of perfection. When the local time hand is moved forwards or backwards in one-hour increments, an isolator uncouples the time-zone mechanism from the main movement.
These adjustments therefore have no influence on the amplitude of the balance or the regularity with which it oscillates, hence the watch's precision is unperturbed. This sophisticated device has been incorporated into the 324 S C FUS calibre inside the new Calatrava Pilot Travel Time Ref. 5524 with centre seconds, date shown by hand, and a heavy central rotor in 21K gold. In a quest for constant innovation, this refined mechanism is fitted with a Gyromax® balance with a patented geometry Spiromax® balance spring, so as to guarantee the extreme precision and reliability required by the Patek Philippe Seal.