Press Release - October 2007 v.2

BASELWORLD 2007

Patek Philippe Geneva - October 2007 v.2

Calatrava Travel Time: the classic for the well-traveled lady

Women are on the go, traveling for work and with their families. While away, they want to keep in touch with friends and loved ones at home. For them, Patek Philippe introduces a watch that already counts as a classic in the men’s collection. Now, a splendidly feminine version of the Calatrava Travel Time, Ref. 4934, will capture the hearts of women everywhere.

The new traveler’s companion for women is a true gem that unites three venerable traditions of the eminent watchmaking company in Geneva: the classic Calatrava silhouette, the complication of a movement that simultaneously displays the time in two zones, and the gem setter’s art that crowns the timepiece with superb, hand-selected diamonds. The Ref. 4934 expands Patek Philippe’s collection of complicated ladies’ watches, but the new degree of sophistication is not limited to the mechanical movement. It also comes to the fore in the extravagant mother-of-pearl dial. The ability to fashion this shimmering natural material into dials is shared by only a handful of master craftspeople.

Browsing through time
To tell the time at the owner’s present location and concurrently at her permanent residence, the Calatrava Travel Time possesses two separate hour hands that move synchronously: a prominent hand for local time and a skeletonized one for home time. It is also easy to see whether it is night or day at home, thanks to the convenient 24-hour dial at 12 o’clock. Now that traveling across 24 time zones has become commonplace for many people, the Calatrava Travel Time belongs to the category of useful complications with relevance to the owner’s everyday life; it shows home time and local time at a glance.

Refined elegance with gold, diamonds and mother of pearl
This technically complex function presents itself in a particularly charming way in the Calatrava Travel Time for ladies. The 18K white- or rose-gold case in the classic Calatrava style has two push pieces on the left-hand side, allowing the local hour hand to be moved forward or backward. Their tapered, extended shape creates a ridge on the side of the case that is mirrored on the opposite side by the crown protectors, giving the watch a visually balanced, symmetrical look. Its elegance is showcased by the diamond-set bezel. It sparkles with the fire of 48 flawless Top Wesselton diamonds totaling about 1.02 carats, creating a sparkling aura of eternity. The everchanging luster of the genuine mother-of-pearl dial adds a further dimension to the sensuous appeal of this watch. It is tinted gray/blue for the white-gold case and has two white mother-of-pearl subsidiary dials for the small seconds and the 24-hour display; the rose-gold version has a brownhued mother-of-pearl dial with two champagne-tinted subsidiary dials. The legibility of the displays is enhance by crisp railway-track scales on the main dial and both subdials, large Roman numerals at the periphery, and small Arabic numbers in the subdials. The hands are 18K gold to match the case. To provide contrast, the skeletonized home hour hands are black nickel-plated in the white-gold model and sandblasted rose in the rose-gold version. The Calatrava Travel Time is worn on an alligator strap that matches the case: matte dark brown with an 18K rose-gold prong buckle for the rose-gold model and matte white with an 18K white-gold buckle for the white-gold model.

A moving masterpiece
The hands of the Calatrava Travel Time are driven by the manually wound caliber 215 PS FUS movement which consists of 178 superbly finished individual parts. It exhibits all of the quality features that characterize Patek Philippe movements, such as beveled steel parts and bridges, steel pinions with hand-polished leaves, carefully applied decorative patterns on the main plate and bridges, and the Gyromax balance invented and patented by Patek Philippe. It beats at a rate of 28,800 semi-oscillations per hour (4 Hz) to assure rate stability. The many complex work steps and inspections required to assemble this movement take several months to complete.

The Calatrava Travel Time – how it works
At the owner’s permanent place of residence – the home time zone – the two hour hands are superposed. En route, the local hour hand is set to the time at the destination with either of the two push pieces on the left-hand side in the caseband. The push piece at 8 o’clock is pressed once for each traversed time zone on an eastbound trip. The push piece at 10 o’clock has the same function for westbound trips. Since the local-hour hand is uncoupled from the movement during this adjustment process, the progression of the minute and seconds hands is not affected and the hometime hand remains in its position as well. If both push pieces are inadvertently pressed at the same time, a special mechanism prevents damage to the movement by responding only to the actuation of the forward push piece at 8 o’clock.
When the time is set with the pulled winding crown, the two large hour hands, the minute hand, and the small 24-hour hand will move simultaneously. During this process, a special coupling arrangement assures that the position of the two hour hands relative to one another remains unchanged.
Patek Philippe’s new Calatrava Travel Time is an attractive innovation in the segment of complicated mechanical watches for ladies. With its precious details and utility, it is the ideal companion for the discerning woman.

For further information, please contact:
Patek Philippe Geneva
International Public Relations Dpt.
P.O. Box 2654
1211 Geneva 2
Switzerland
Tel.: +41 22 884 20 20
Fax: +41 22 884 25 47

Technical data

Calatrava Travel Time, Ref. 4934

Movement
Caliber 215 PS FUS 24H
Manually wound mechanical movement, display of two time zones
with local/home time, 24-hour. indicator, seconds subdial at 6 o’clock
Overall diameter: 21.90 mm
Height: 3.35 mm
Number of parts: 178
Number of jewels: 18
Power reserve: 44 hours
Balance: Gyromax
Frequency: 28,800 semi-oscillations/hour (4 Hz)
Balance spring: Flat
Functions: Two-position crown:
- Pulled out: to set time
- Pushed in: to wind watch
Displays: Local hour, home hour, minutes
Oval subsidiary dials:
- 24-hour indicator (home time) at 12 o’clock
- Seconds subdial at 6 o’clock

Features
Case: 18K white or rose gold
Screwed sapphire-crystal case back
Two correction push pieces integrated in the caseband for moving
the local hour hand forward or backward
Integrated crown protector
Water-resistant to 30 meters
Case dimensions: Diameter: 35 mm
Thickness: 9.8 mm crystal to case back
Overall thickness: 9.99 mm crystal to lugs
Width between lugs: 19 mm
Dial:
- White gold: tripartite, natural blue/gray tinted mother-of-pearl dial and two white mother-of-pearl subsidiary dials
- Rose gold: tripartite, brown-tinted mother-of-pearl dial and two champagne-tinted mother-of-pearl subsidiary dials 12 anthracite gray Roman numerals for the white-gold model and 12 champagne Roman numerals for the rose-gold model
Railway-track minute scale on perimeter of dial
Slender leaf-shaped black nickel-plated gold seconds hand at 6 o’clock and 24-hour hand at 12 o’clock
Leaf-shaped local hour (time at the destination) and minute hands in 18K white or rose gold to match the case color
Skeletonized leaf-shaped home hour (time at owner’s residence) hand in black nickel-plated gold for the white-gold model and in sandblasted rose gold for the rose-gold model
Precious stones:
Case: 48 flawless rare white Top Wesselton round diamonds, full cut, 1.20 mm in diameter totaling approx. 1.02 ct.
Strap: Hand-stitched alligator, dark brown for the rose-gold model and matte white for the white-gold model. 14-mm prong buckle in 18K rose or white gold.

Product images: