Credits: Article and images by Tim Mosso @ Quill & Pad. See the original article here - https://quillandpad.com/2023/10/25/review-patek-philippe-pilot-annual-calendar-travel-time/
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Finish quality is laudable. Patek Philippe notably does a better job than its “trinity” counterpart Audemars Piguet of disguising the elements of mechanical fabrication that are inevitable in any watch built in more than a few dozen copies per year.
Patek Philippe Caliber 31-260 PS QA LU FUS circular graining
The 31-260’s bevels, stripes, engine turning, and polishing of parts all appear convincingly artisanal even though it’s matter of common knowledge that several machines and at most one set of hands fashion each component of this mass-produced caliber.
For example, the timid rounding of the bridge angles around the pivots betrays the series-production nature of this movement.
Patek Philippe Caliber 31-260 PS QA LU FUS movement finishing
On the other hand, Patek’s style department specified extraordinarily broad côtes de Genève, which look fantastic.
To maximize rotating mass and winding efficiency, the micro-rotor is machined from a block of platinum and rolls on hybrid ceramic bearings. Hacking seconds, long a sore subject for Patek Philippe devotees, mercifully is present.
Gyromax free-sprung balance of the Patek Philippe Caliber 31-260 PS QA LU FUS
The aggregate of refinements such as the Gyromax free-sprung balance, Spiromax silicon hairspring, six-position adjustment, and Patek Philippe seal underpins the factory’s attestation that the watch should run no worse than -3/+2 seconds per day when freshly assembled or recently serviced. The bias towards time loss is odd, but the result still surpasses the COSC’s -4/+6.
Patek Philippe Pilot Annual Calendar Travel Time Ref. 5326G-001
At nearly $80,000, the Pilot Annual Calendar Travel Time costs as much as a graduate degree and far more than virtually all simple Calatravas.
But no luxury watch purchase makes any big-picture sense, and the face-melting prices being paid for steel Patek sports watches casts a feature-laden everyday companion like the 5326G in a favorable light.
For those times when a person needs to 1) swim or 2) flip a watch for the price of a Porsche 911, there’s the Nautilus. For all other occasions, it would be a pleasure to consult the Pilot Annual Calendar Travel Time.
For more information, please visit www.patek.com/en/company/news/annual-calendar-travel-time-ref-5326g-001
Quick Facts: Patek Philippe Pilot Annual Calendar Travel Time 5326G-001
Case: white gold, 41mm x 11.2 x 48.9
Dial: textured charcoal gradient with luminescent paint and applied Arabic numerals
Movement: 31-260 PS QA LU FUS, micro-rotor automatic, 48-hour power reserve, hacking seconds, 4Hz, free sprung, adjusted in six positions, silicon hairspring
Functions: annual calendar, moonphase, second time zone, am/pm for local and home time
Price 2023: approx. $78,660
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Credits: Article and images by Tim Mosso @ Quill & Pad. See the original article here - https://quillandpad.com/2023/10/25/review-patek-philippe-pilot-annual-calendar-travel-time/
