Patek Philippe 5522A – the new Pilots Calatrava you weren’t expecting
This US-exclusive Calatrava Pilots stems from the most controversial Patek of modern times, but does it stand on its own"
by James Buttery
If you happen to find yourself in New York this weekend there?s still time to catch Patek Philippe?s Watch Art Grand Exhibition, which has previously visited Germany and Dubai and was last seen at London?s Saatchi Gallery in 2014.
With each stop the exhibition is tailored to the local market and, for New York, Patek has not only created 17 metiers d?art clocks, pocket watches and wristwatches decorated with romantic American landscapes, it also launched a collection of nine watches exclusively for the US retail market.
On top of diamond-set minute repeaters and worldtimers with enamel dials depicting the Manhattan skyline there was one watch which caught everyone?s eye.
The Ref 5522A, or Calatrava Pilot, is clearly related to Patek?s extraordinarily controversial 5524G Pilot?s Calatrava Travel Time of 2015. At the time Patek showed off a few images of watches it produced in the early part of the 20th Century that allegedly resembled this future curio. Whatever your thoughts on the 5524G – and few were kind – Patek president Thierry Stern almost certainly had the last laugh, an unusual Patek is a fair bet in terms of return on investment, if you can get your hands on one in the first place.
The 5522A dispenses with the complications of its recent ancestor, using the central seconds 324 S automatic calibre, which can be...
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