Patek Philippe

There are very few complications that capture the intricacies and nuances of traveling across timezones, quite like the World Time function of the Patek Philippe Reference 5131J-001. This function was originally inspired by the Cottier world time movement of the Patek Reference 605 HU which was created in 1937 by Louis Cottier and Patek Philippe. These very first World Time watches introduced a revolutionary way of depicting the Greenwich Mean Time for the modern traveler to view the local time of many global cities all at once.

The World Time Ref. 5131J is one of four references that were made between the years of 2008 and 2021. These four iterations were produced in yellow gold (5131J), white gold (5131G), pink gold (5131R), as well as platinum (5131P). Each version encases a different cloisonne map of the world, which is surrounded by two rings: the inner ring depicting a 24 hour marker, and the outer ring depicting 24 cities. The cloisonne dial of the Ref. 5131J-001 represents a map of the Americas, Africa and Europe, and lists 24 corresponding cities located on these continents. 

The cloisonne dial is notoriously difficult to make as the silica requires multiple firings until it is properly blended within its intricate wire outlines, and the final look is achieved. This process leaves many things up to chance, and it is rumored that only two enamelists created these dials for the Ref. 5131. With no perfectly standardized technique to create the enamel maps, each collector of the Ref. 5131 has a slightly different watch from the other.