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The Most Overlooked Pilot’s Watch in History: The Patek Philippe Pilot’s Watch
When you think of pilot’s watches, the names that come to mind are likely IWC, Breitling, and even Longines. Surprisingly, as one of the most well-known brands in the watch industry, Patek Philippe also has a long and prestigious range of pilot’s watches. The pilot’s watch series is rich in history, beautifully designed, and has some amazing complications, but it is rarely mentioned when discussing pilot’s watches. If I asked you to name three Patek Philippe watches, I bet you five quid that you would not choose one of them. It sounds bold, but does this mean that the Patek Philippe Pilot’s Watch series is the most overlooked pilot’s watch in history?
The story behind the series begins with a humble beginning. Initially, Patek Philippe’s pilot’s watches were purely tool watches for pilots, not for the general public. This noble pursuit led Patek Philippe to design watches with the sole purpose of fulfilling their original purpose. This is in stark contrast to the dive watches we would not wear in the shower today.
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Patek Philippe's first pilot's watch was created in the 1930s and was called the "Hour Angle" watch. Designed to speed up navigation, the hour angle used radio signals or fixed points (such as Greenwich Mean Time) and the degrees on the dial to navigate to your current location. Since much of the world was at war, the hour angle watch had a practical value, so the case size was large and easy to read at 55 mm.
It's not hard to understand why they didn't really become popular at the time. Even so, they are still Patek Philippe masterpieces, so they are highly collectible and often fetch millions of dollars at auction. The Patek Philippe Museum houses some of the only remaining original pilot's watches from the 1930s.
They then disappeared from Patek Philippe's production until they were re-launched at the 2015 Baselworld Watch and Jewelry Show. The launch of the Calatrava Pilot Travel Time Ref. 5524 brought Patek Philippe aviation watches back into the spotlight, making it the first truly worthwhile pilot’s watch from Patek Philippe. Unfortunately, as is often the case with new watches these days (rather than the 100th reissue of a popular model), the 5524 was somewhat underwhelming.
That’s not to say the watch is ugly or controversial in any way, it’s just that it fails to show any of the history of Patek Philippe’s aviation watches. Patek Philippe claims that the design of the watch is inspired by watches from the 1930s, but you wouldn’t notice it. It’s a brand new watch. So for veteran collectors who were hoping for more heritage, or even a return of the hour angle, this watch will be a bit underwhelming.
Taken in isolation, it was and still is an objectively great watch. With its dual time zone complication, blue lacquered dial, and white gold case, there’s a lot to like. Since 2015, the 5524 has been introduced in further versions, including rose gold cases and new colored dials. The 42mm size has always been on the large side, but in 2018, several 37mm versions joined the ranks.
The next iteration of Patek Philippe took a bit of an unexpected turn, adding an alarm function to the unexpectedly released Travel Time Alarm Ref. 5520. The 5520 retains all the design elements of the other watches in the Calatrava Pilot's Collection, but interestingly, Patek Philippe removed the Pilot's Collection name from this model, even though it is clearly part of the collection.
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If you know watch history, you will know how important chronograph functions are to pilots. Accurately calculating the flight time in a specific direction is essential for navigation. You'll notice that none of these early pilot's watches included a chronograph, which left a bit of a gap in the collection. In 2023, Patek Philippe launched its first pilot's chronograph, the Ref. 5924.
Rather than just a chronograph, the 5924 is actually equipped with a flyback chronograph movement and has a dual time zone function. Combining these two complications makes for a perfect pilot’s watch. Especially with a green dial and green strap, it really takes on the military feel.
The current Patek Philippe Pilot’s Watch collection is a fusion of its 1930s heritage and modern day excellence in complications. Surprisingly, it doesn’t get as much exposure as brands like IWC and Breitling. Earlier this year, Patek Philippe introduced a stunning ivory dial 5524, which shows its continued commitment to the Pilot’s Watch. Hopefully, there will be more in the near future.
I mentioned at the beginning that if you were asked to name Patek Philippe’s top three watches, the Pilot’s Watch would not make the list. And I think that’s the problem. Patek Philippe has so many collections under its belt, and so many great watches. So if the Pilot’s Watch isn’t even Patek Philippe’s most popular collection, how can it stand out in the broader Pilot’s Watch category? In many ways, the Pilot’s Watch suffered from the success of the Nautilus and Aquanaut, failing to escape their shadow (despite being long before them), and perhaps for this reason it is one of the most overlooked pilot’s watches in history.
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