Patek Philippe World Time

The World Time series from Swiss luxury watchmaker Patek Philippe is home to premium timepieces with a world time complication. This function is especially practical for globetrotters, as they can tell the time at home and 24 other locations at a glance – not to mention switch time zones at the push of a button. There is a great deal of admiration for the World Time among watch collectors and enthusiasts alike.

The World Time displays 24 principle time zones using two rotating rings on the edge of the dial. The inner ring has a 24-hour scale, while the outer ring has city names representing each time zone.

Patek Philippe crafts the cases, which range from 36 to 40.2 mm in diameter, mostly from precious metals. You will find models in yellow, rose, or white gold, as well as platinum. What's more, the bezels on the women's models are adorned with 62 diamonds.

In 2022, the Swiss manufacturer shelved the ref. 5131J and introduced the ref. 5231G, which is equipped with an enamel dial. While the center of the 5131J features a map of the Americas, Europe, Africa, and surrounding oceans, you can admire the oceans and landmasses of Southeast Asia on the new release.

It goes without saying that Patek Philippe exclusively equips this series with top-of-the-range in-house calibers that exemplify the manufacturer's decades worth of experience.

At the time of publishing in January 2023, the white gold World Time ref. 5110G-001 was the most affordable model in the series. This timepiece measures 37 mm across and costs around 37,500 USD in mint condition.

If you would like your World Time model to have a chronograph function, expect prices to rise considerably. One example is the white gold ref. 5930G. This 39.5-mm timepiece will cost you around 81,000 USD new.

World Time models with enamel dials are exceptionally detailed. The center of the ref. 5131J-014, for example, boasts an elaborate depiction of the Earth as viewed from the North Pole. Prices for the yellow gold version on Chrono24 come in around 152,000 USD. The ref. 5231G, on the other hand, features the continents and seas of Southeast Asia. Expect to spend roughly 133,000 USD on the white gold version.

Standard World Time models in the current collection bear the reference number 5230. Patek crafts these 38.5-mm timepieces from white gold, rose gold, or platinum. The white gold version sports a white and gray dial and costs around 47,000 USD in mint condition. The dial on the ref. 5230G-010 combines white and blue and demands some 85,000 USD. The rose gold version (ref. 5230R-001) changes hands for close to 53,000 USD.

The World Time ref. 5230P-001 is made of platinum and features a solid blue dial. Listings on Chrono24 for this Patek watch in mint condition come in at around 63,500 USD.

World Time Models for Women

Patek Philippe markets the 36-mm World Time refs. 7130G and 7130R as women's watches. The ref. 7130G is a white gold timepiece with a blue and gray dial. The real eye-catcher, however, is the bezel adorned with 62 white diamonds. The watch is paired with an alligator leather strap in peacock blue. What's more, the pin buckle is encrusted with a further 27 diamonds.

You can buy this model in mint condition on Chrono24 for 52,000 USD, which is below the manufacturer's official list price of 57,960 USD.

The ref. 7130R is the rose gold women's edition. This timepiece has an olive green dial, and like the white gold version, flaunts a bezel set with 62 diamonds and a pin buckle with 27 diamonds. Patek pairs the case with a calfskin leather strap in olive green to match the dial. Expect an investment of roughly 62,000 USD for this World Time watch.

World Time Models With Minute Repeaters

The Patek Philippe World Time ref. 5531R joined the manufacturer's catalog back in 2018. Here the watchmaker has combined a world time watch with a minute repeater. A patented mechanism makes sure the chimes always relay the current local time. This 40.2-mm watch is also finely decorated. The sides are guilloched by hand in a "Clous de Paris" pattern, the lugs are skeletonized, and the center of the dial features an enamel representation of the Lavaux vineyards on the shores of Lake Geneva. However, all this luxury comes at a price, namely 1.9 million USD (as of January 2023).

World Time Chronograph

The latest World Time Chronograph models can be found under the reference number 5930. The case measures 39.5 mm across and is available in white gold or platinum. The white gold version comes with either a blue or red dial, while the platinum edition comes exclusively with a blue dial. This timepiece is paired with an alligator leather strap matching the respective dial color.

If you're interested in the white gold version with a blue dial, plan to spend around 81,500 USD. If the red dial is more your style, expect prices to rise to 128,000 USD. The World Time Chronograph with a green dial can push 138,000 USD.

The ref. 5934A is another World Time Chronograph model. Unlike its 39.5-mm counterparts, the case of this platinum timepiece has a diameter of 41 mm. This edition has a rose-gold colored dial and comes with two calfskin leather straps: one in taupe and another in beige. This model changes hands for around 135,000 USD.

Patek Philippe has a long tradition of creating world time watches. The Genevan manufacturer first brought this complication to market all the way back in the 1930s. At that time, Patek used a design from Louis Cottier, an independent watchmaker. He came up with the idea of using a central hand and two counterclockwise-rotating rings. The inner ring has a 24-hour scale, while the outer ring features 24 city names, each representing a different time zone.

The 24-hour ring displays the local time at the 12 o'clock position, while the city ring displays the name of an important city in the respective time zone above. London, New York, Moscow, Bangkok, Tokyo, and Sydney are all featured on the ring, as are the Azores in the Atlantic and the Marshall Islands in the Pacific.

If it's 10 AM in London, the World Time's rings show that it's 12 PM in Cairo, 6 PM in Hong Kong, and 7 AM in Buenos Aires. The 24-hour scale is colored light blue between 7 AM and 6 PM and dark blue from 7 PM to 6 AM, so that the wearer can easily distinguish between day and night. A sun at 12 PM and a moon at 12 AM make the display even clearer.

The World Time really shines when you're on the road; you can quickly set the current local time via a push-piece at 10 o'clock. The hour hand moves ahead an hour every time you press the push-piece, and the city and 24-hour discs move a step back, counterclockwise. The wearer pushes the push-piece until the appropriate city and time are displayed on the discs at 12 o'clock. Patek Philippe is the only brand to offer this method of setting the time, where one push-piece controls both the hour hand and both discs.