Exploring the Patek Philippe Alarm Travel Time Reference 5520RG-001

At Watches and Wonders 2024, Patek Philippe released the Alarm Travel Time Reference 5520RG-001, a new version in rose gold. Price €261,360

Patek Philippe has a long-standing tradition of crafting timepieces designed to facilitate seamless time management for travelers across various time zones. The 1930s saw the arrival of the famous World Time watch, now equipped with a date display synchronized with local time. At the end of the 1950s, the Travel Time system of dual time zones made its debut. 

Expressing the essence of travel watches with its sporty Pilot style, the Patek Philippe Alarm Travel Time returns in a new rose gold variation, complementing the platinum Reference 5520P-001 introduced in 2019.

The new Alarm Travel Time Ref. 5520RG-001 stands out by its two-tone dial: gray sunburst and charcoal gray, and applied Arabic numerals and sword-shaped hands in charcoal-gray white gold with a luminescent coating. 

The Travel Time function is very easy to use. The watch has two hour hands from the centre. One is filled and indicates the local time at the owner’s current location. The other, skeletonized, displays home time and remains hidden beneath the local-time hour hand when local and home time are identical.

A separate day/night indicator is assigned to both time zones (at 8:30 for local time and at 3:30 for home time). The dial is completed by an unusual analog date display at 6 o'clock where the date is represented in a 3-day increments scale. It is synchronized with local time.

To adjust the local time clockwise in one-hour increments (pusher at 8 o'clock) or counterclockwise (pusher at 10 o'clock), it is sufficient to press the pushers, embossed with the symbols + and –, in the left-hand case flank. To activate a pusher, it needs to be unlocked with a quarter turn, facilitated by the fluting. Reversing the quarter turn locks the pusher back in place. The watch is water-resistant to 30 metres / 100 feet.

The alarm function indications are arranged in the upper half of the dial. To assure optimal legibility, the manufacture chose a digital display for the alarm time, a patent-pending solution. The programmed alarm time is displayed in a double aperture beneath the 12 o'clock position. Directly underneath it is the round aperture with the day/night indicator in white for the time from 6 am to 6 pm and blue for 6 pm to 6 am. 

The crown at 4 o'clock must be pulled out to its intermediate position to adjust the alarm time in 15-minute steps by turning it in either direction.

The pusher at 2 o'clock activates/deactivates the alarm. When this is triggered, a hammer (visible through the display back) strikes a classic gong that circles the movement for up to 40 seconds with a frequency of 2.5 Hz (2.5 strikes per second). This is equivalent to about 90 strikes in total.

Housed in a 42.2 mm x 11.6 mm pilot case, the self-winding calibre AL 30-660 S C FUS comprises 574 parts and is equipped with a Spiromax balance spring made of Silinvar, a derivative of silicon. The properties of this material and the patented geometry of the hairspring contribute to the highest reliability and great rate accuracy in line with the directives of the Patek Philippe Seal that prescribes a maximum tolerance of -3/+2 seconds per day.

Operating at a frequency of 28,800 vibrations per hour, the movement has a power reserve ranging from a minimum of 42 hours to a maximum of 52 hours.

Its finishes and the 21K gold rotor with Genevan circular graining are revealed through the sapphire crystal display back.

Paired with a calfskin, chestnut strap with a rose gold clevis prong buckle, the Patek Philippe Alarm Travel Time Ref. 5520RG-001 has a suggested retail price of Euro 261,360. patek.com

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