7234G‑001
Calatrava Pilot Travel Time Calatrava
Lug width: 18 mm
Source: Not yet verified Attachment: Spring barsCase size: 37.5 mmBlue dialCase material: White Gold
- Attachment
- classic lugs
- Status
- Listed in our database, not yet verified
The story · Since 1936
The story of the Patek Philippe Calatrava Pilot Travel Time
In 2015 Patek Philippe unveiled a 42 mm white gold pilot's watch with large numerals and luminous hands, and critics said it did not look like a Patek. Its roots were two 1936 hour-angle watches built for aerial navigation, and ten years later the family it started counts travel times, an alarm and a flyback chronograph.
- 1936 Hour-angle watches for navigators Patek Philippe made oversized hour-angle wristwatches in 1936, meant to be worn outside the pilot's suit as navigation instruments.
- 2015 A surprise at Baselworld Patek Philippe presented the Ref. 5524G Calatrava Pilot Travel Time at Baselworld 2015: 42 mm of white gold, a blue lacquered dial, luminous Arabic numerals and its patented Travel Time second time zone.
- 2017 to 2019 A family takes shape A steel three-hand Ref. 5522A followed for the 2017 New York exhibition, then in 2018 a rose gold 5524R with a brown dial and a 37.5 mm 7234R for smaller wrists.
- 2020 to 2023 Smaller gold, then a chronograph In 2020 the white gold model gained a 37.5 mm sister, the Ref. 7234G.
- 2025 Ten years and an ivory dial For the tenth anniversary Patek Philippe replaced the blue-dial 5524G with the 5524G-010, keeping the 42 mm white gold case but switching to an ivory lacquered dial and a khaki composite strap.
600
Pieces of the steel 5522A New York 2017 edition
Worn by
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600Pieces of the steel 5522A New York 2017 edition
10.78 mmCase thickness of the 42 mm 5524
Chapters
- 1936
Hour-angle watches for navigators
Patek Philippe made oversized hour-angle wristwatches in 1936, meant to be worn outside the pilot's suit as navigation instruments. Two 1930s hour-angle watches are shown at the Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva; Christie's describes a unique split-seconds prototype, 55.3 mm across, as one of the two Patek Philippe examples.
- 2015
A surprise at Baselworld
Patek Philippe presented the Ref. 5524G Calatrava Pilot Travel Time at Baselworld 2015: 42 mm of white gold, a blue lacquered dial, luminous Arabic numerals and its patented Travel Time second time zone. The press called it unexpected and critics said it did not look like a Patek Philippe, while Thierry Stern, who succeeded his father in 2009, wanted a fully functional watch for the modern man.
- 2017 to 2019
A family takes shape
A steel three-hand Ref. 5522A followed for the 2017 New York exhibition, then in 2018 a rose gold 5524R with a brown dial and a 37.5 mm 7234R for smaller wrists. In 2019 came the 5520P Alarm Travel Time and a steel 7234A for the Singapore exhibition.
- 2020 to 2023
Smaller gold, then a chronograph
In 2020 the white gold model gained a 37.5 mm sister, the Ref. 7234G. In 2023 the line married the Travel Time system to a self-winding flyback chronograph in the 42 mm white gold Ref. 5924G.
- 2025
Ten years and an ivory dial
For the tenth anniversary Patek Philippe replaced the blue-dial 5524G with the 5524G-010, keeping the 42 mm white gold case but switching to an ivory lacquered dial and a khaki composite strap. The Business Times describes the original 5524G as the first model built from scratch under Thierry Stern's watch.
Worn by
Ed SheeranMusic2017
Watchonista identifies his watch as a rose gold Calatrava Pilot Travel Time 5524R, shown in a VICE interview with Stormzy and worn on the cover of British GQ's March 2017 issue; GQ credits the cover watch only as 'Watch by Patek Philippe'.
Moments
2017. For The Art of Watches Grand Exhibition in New York, Patek Philippe made the pilot design in stainless steel, a rare case metal outside its sports collections, as the Ref. 5522A limited to 600 pieces.
2017. Ed Sheeran wore a Patek Philippe Calatrava Pilot Travel Time for his March 2017 British GQ cover, a shoot photographed by Norman Jean Roy.
2009. On 11 May 2009 Christie's sold a unique 1936 Patek Philippe hour-angle aviator wristwatch with splittable centre seconds, 55.3 mm across, for CHF 1,891,000 against an estimate of CHF 300,000 to 500,000.
Generations and strap changes
- 2025Ref. 5524G-010
A new white gold version of the original Pilot, ten years after the 5524G: same 42 mm by 10.78 mm case, now with an ivory lacquered dial and the 26-330 S C FUS caliber.
Khaki green composite strap with a fabric pattern and a white gold clevis prong buckle.
- 2023Ref. 5924G
The Calatrava Pilot Travel Time Chronograph: a 42 mm white gold self-winding flyback chronograph with the Travel Time second time zone, in blue-grey or khaki green dials.
Grained navy blue or olive green calfskin strap with vintage finish.
- 2020Ref. 7234G-001
The white gold original in the 37.5 mm size, with blued white gold hands instead of steel.
Navy blue calfskin strap matching the dial, with a vintage brown leather strap also offered.
- 2019Ref. 7234A-001 Singapore 2019
A 37.5 mm steel limited edition of 400 pieces for the Watch Art Grand Exhibition Singapore 2019, with a blue-grey dial.
Embossed blue calfskin strap.
- 2018Ref. 5524R-001
The original 42 mm design in rose gold with a sunburst brown dial fading to black at the rim.
Vintage brown calfskin strap with a rose gold clevis prong buckle.
- 2018Ref. 7234R-001
The first mid-size version, 37.5 mm in rose gold with a brown dial, made for women and for men who prefer smaller watches.
Case size drops from 42 mm to 37.5 mm; Delugs lists an 18 mm lug width for this reference.
- 2018Ref. 5524T-010
A unique piece in titanium with a hand-brushed black dial, made for the Children Action charity and the only titanium 5524.
Vintage black calfskin strap with contrast stitching.
- 2017Ref. 5522A New York 2017
A three-hand limited edition of 600 pieces in stainless steel for The Art of Watches Grand Exhibition in New York, its blue dial recalling 1930s American fighter planes.
- 2015Ref. 5524G-001
The original: 42 mm white gold, blue lacquered dial, luminous applied numerals, caliber 324 S C FUS with home and local time, and screw-locked pushers at 8 and 10 o'clock to jump the local hour.
Brown calfskin strap with contrast topstitching and a white gold clevis prong buckle.