Patek Philippe Calatrava 5134J Travel Time: A Classic Gets Complicated

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Dress watches for men are back in a big way. But this<a title="Buy Patek Philippe Watches" href="../shop/Patek-Philippe-Complications-5134J.html"> Patek Philippe Calatrava 5134J</a> is the ultimate proof that timeless taste never goes out of style. And with a second time zone to keep tabs on far-flung acquaintances, the Patek Philippe Calatrava 5134J combines Patek’s most iconic watch with the industry’s most useful complication.

<a href="../watches/patek-philippe/patek-philippe-calatrava/">Patek Philippe’s Calatrava</a> ranks among haute horlogerie’s all-time greats. One of the first designs launched by Patek’s Stern family dynasty, the Calatrava created the template for modern men’s dress watches.
This Patek Philippe Calatrava 5134J is a Calatrava for the modern man and a deft melding of historic signatures and modern necessities. As a 2003-2008 offering, the now discontinued 5134J is a highly sought model among discerning collectors of traditional Patek Philippe dress models.
The Calatrava 5134J incorporates critical elements of Henri Stern’s 1932 original such as the elegant tapered lugs and deft dial-to-bezel balance. In profile, the 5134J reads with the unmistakable silhouette of a Patek Philippe Calatrava. Key elements of the original Calatrava visage are present in force: silver dial, stick indexes, seconds subdial at six o’clock, and robust dauphine hands ensure a full complement of essential Patek Philippe Calatrava imagery.
But Patek Philippe’s deference to tradition never stymies innovation. The Calatrava is a contemporary dress watch that adds a tapered set of crown guards in place of the original’s unsheathed crown. The flares of the guards visually extend the 37mm case without adding actual girth. Moreover, the crown guards offer a visual echo of the tapered lugs that lends coherence to the whole.
In this dual-time Patek Philippe Calatrava 5134J, the flank-mounted +/- pusher correctors of the second time zone balance the opposing flare of the crown guard. The result preserves the signature swell of the Calatrava from lug to lug, and the additional outcropping is evocative of the <a href="../watches/patek-philippe/patek-philippe-nautilus/">Nautilus</a> sports watch’s famous “water wings.” While the 5134J clearly benefits from a measure of in-house gene splicing, the Calatrava Travel Time remains a purebred <a href="../watches/patek-philippe">Patek Philippe</a>.
Inside the case, an automatic Caliber 215/156 movement beats at 28,800 VpH and bears the Geneva Hallmark. Discontinued by Patek Philippe in 2009, the independently issued Geneva Seal attests to the finishing quality of any movement bearing it. As a discontinued Patek Philippe model with the now-discontinued Geneva Seal, this 5134J represents an outstanding long-term investment.
Patek Philippe’s watchmakers designed the dual-time complication with an elegant and clever feature; the skeletonized remote (reference) time zone hour hand can be hidden under the hour hand in order to unclutter the dial when a second time zone is not of interest. In this case, the 24-hour indicator at 12 o’clock functions as an AM/PM indicator for the 12-hour local time readout.
It is no exaggeration to describe the Calatrava 5134J as the “everyday Patek Philippe.” Its discreet size and ageless style make it a welcome companion at almost any formal or informal affair, automatic winding and a date function add practicality, and the outstanding legibility of the classical dial serves the essential purpose of telling time at a glance.
Luxury watches of a formal persuasion never really went away, but it was easy to miss them in the mid-2000s heyday of the mega watch. This <a href="../shop/Patek-Philippe-Complications-5134J.html">Patek Philippe Calatrava 5134J</a> is your ticket back to the future.
Content by Tim Mosso.

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