World Time 5230 Shanghai 2012-2022

In Context

At 38.5 mm it sits just under the modern norm — the band that suits the widest spread of wrists. At 10.23 mm thick it is about average for a modern wristwatch. The case back is open, so the movement is visible without taking the watch apart, and the sapphire crystal will resist everything short of deliberate abuse. Rated to 30 m, it is protected against rain and splashes and nothing beyond that.

The movement winds itself from the motion of your wrist. 48 hours of reserve is enough to set it down on Friday evening and find it still running on Monday. At 21,600 vph the seconds hand advances 6 times a second, the slower and more audible rate of an older design.

5230P-010 is one of 2 executions of the 5230P base reference. Underneath they are the same watch; what separates this one is a red guilloche dial and a platinum case. It was a limited edition. Beyond the time it carries a gmt.

The world-time version of the 240, and the reason that complication can sit in a case this thin. Louis Cottier's twin-disc system — 24 cities on one ring, a 24-hour scale on another, both advanced from the crown — adds only 1.35 mm to the base caliber, taking it from 2.53 mm to 3.88 mm. The micro-rotor runs on zirconium ball bearings rather than steel, which matters when a rotor that small has to wind a movement carrying an extra 100-odd parts.

39 other watches in the library run the Patek Philippe 240 HU.

Patek Philippe

World Time 7130 Rose Gold / Ivory

7130R-011 · 36 mm

Patek Philippe

World Time 5110

5110P-001 · 37 mm

Patek Philippe

World Time 5230 White Gold / Mexico

5230G-022 · 38.5 mm

Patek Philippe

World Time 5130

5130/1G-011 · 39.5 mm