We’ve become accustomed to multiple releases from brands over the past few years and of course 2022 is no different. Yesterday Patek Philippe dropped a mouth-watering handful of new watches and it’s only natural that we look at one of the watches not made from a precious metal. We’ve almost become accustomed to Patek releasing timepieces that aren’t exactly quintessential Patek; the 5524G of course comes to mind. This 5935A World Time Flyback Chronograph fits into that category, why? While it combines two of our favourite complications: the chronograph and the world-timer function, it hasn’t been executed in a particularly Patek manner – just like the 5930 that proceed it.
That said, this combination of compilations is not foreign to Patek, it is essentially like the 5524, which in a fashion was loosely based on a 1920’s pilots watch from the archives and the same is true for this World Time Chronograph. The original was a unique piece 1415 HU, as seen in the image below.
As mentioned, while the marriage of these two complications is nothing particularly new to Patek, the Ref. 5935 model will of course be a timepiece that is in Patek Philippe’s regular collection. It makes use of the new calibre CH 28-520 HU manufacture movement which combines an automatic chronograph featuring column-wheel control and a vertical clutch with the World Time module.
Activated by a pusher at 10 o’clock, this advances the hour hand and the two World Time scales in one-hour increments. Though Patek have lauded this calibre as new, it is not completely surprising that it is in fact a combination of the movements from the 5990 and 5130, making it extremely thin, 4.9 mm to be exact, which makes it the world’s thinnest world-timer chronograph. And if that wasn’t enough the chronograph complication is a flyback.
Keeping the new ref. 5935 as classical and elegant as possible, it features a 41 mm stainless-steel round case, with winglet-style strap lugs – a trait seen in Patek watches in the 1940s and 50s. Combining these two design characteristics is indeed a conscience nod to the past. That said, when gazing upon the dial you can’t help but feel that the 5935 takes on a little bit more of a sporty look.
The new Ref. 5935, with its salmon hue and silvery dial that structures the displays of local time, the other 23 time zones, and the chronograph functions in an exemplary manner to assure instant legibility at a glance. The outermost scale is a rose gold disk with the city names that represent the 24 time zones. It adjoins the silver chronograph scale with fourth-of-a-second graduations. An adjacent 24-hour ring with bright/dark zones as well as sun and moon symbols, doubles as a day/night indicator for the World Time readings. As in all Patek Philippe World Time watches, the centre of the dial is dedicated to decorative “carbon” motif that has been manually guilloched – adding a modern and dynamic touch to the sporty aspect of the steel case.
So, I’ve skimmed over the nitty gritty of the 5935A but when you mull over the aesthetics of it, it all seems a little confusing to say the least. As already mentioned, it features what Patek have explained as a classic inspired case and you know what, there is no denying its classical elements. However, the salmon “carbon” motif dial, while supposedly “classic”, says sporty. Moreover, coupled with a tan leather strap only further increases its sportier idiosyncrasies.
But and it is a big but, it is the first time Patek is adding a world-timer flyback chronograph to its catalogue, and this is quite import. We all know that Patek Philippe timepieces are collectable but some of the most collectable timepieces they have ever made are the oddities or the firsts. Look at the 5524G for example, Patek’s first ever commercially available Pilots watch, with Travel Time function and look how that turned out – rather well if I must say so myself.
The World Time Flyback Chronograph reference 5935A-001 is priced at £51,430, for more information visit patek.com.
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