Pilot-style watches have been a part of Patek Philippe’s history for almost a century. However, they are a rather unknown chapter. There were a handful of aviator-inspired watches in the 1930s and ’40s, some which can be found at the Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva – notably one from 1936 that is currently on display.
“My favourite example of Patek’s early pilot watches is this watch that appeared at auction in 2009. I wish I had a time machine to go back and buy it! CHF 1,891,000 now seems like a bargain for it considering its importance,” said John Reardon, vintage Patek Philippe expert and founder of the Collectability platform. He was referring to the probably unique oversize chrome nickel splittable centre seconds aviator prototype wristwatch with Guillaume balance and black hour angle dial calibrated for 360° that was sold by Christie’s.
The men and women who took to the skies depended on their timepieces for navigation. The aforementioned museum collection timepieces bear witness to this by displaying the hour angle: The angular distance in astronomy or celestial navigation. These instruments were known as siderometers, and let a pilot determine his or her longitudinal position – well before navigating with the aid of radio signals or GPS. By setting a reference GMT time, the longitude could be obtained with the aid of the stars and a sextant.
The modern era of Patek Philippe pilot watches began with the Calatrava Pilot Travel Time ref. 5524 released in 2015, which offered a new take on Patek Philippe’s utilitarian watches. Evolving from the siderometers of the 1930s, this last decade has seen modern pilot watches equipped with travel complications like different time zones, mechanical alarm, flyback chronograph, and day and night indication. Coinciding with the 10th anniversary of this comeback, the Geneva brand in 2025 presented the 5524G-010, which offers a new version of this model blending tradition and modernity. For instance, the new Calatrava Pilot Travel Time, which has an ivory lacquered dial with blackened white gold numerals with luminescent coating, also has a second time zone. This is shown with its charcoal grey white gold sword-style hands. The solid hand filled with luminescent coating shows local time, whereas the pierced or skeletonised hand shows home time. There are also day and night indications for both local and home time, and should you travel over the dateline, the local date can be changed in either direction.
The left case band is pierced by two pushers not to be confused with chronograph buttons. No, these screw-down buttons are used for adjusting the time zones on the self-winding watch; a patented system that shows that Patek Philippe is as strong as ever when it comes to inventions.
“The Calatrava Pilot Travel Time ref. 5524 rekindled the look of the past with additional functionality, said Mr. Reardon. “At 42 millimetres it is a large watch, so I was pleased to see the Ref. 7234 come out afterwards at the smaller size of 39 millimetres. I imagine there is much more that Patek Philippe can do around its pilot watches, and I am excited to see what could be next.”
