In the agricultural society before the time zone was not divided, different timing methods were used around the world. This chaotic timing caused great confusion to people’s daily lives. In 1876, when a Scottish-Canadian engineer, Sandford Fleming, traveled in Ireland, he missed the train by mistakenly treating his morning ticket as afternoon. It was this incident that prompted him to study World Standard Time to improve this state of chaotic timing.
In 1879, Sandford Fleming first proposed the global time zone system and actively promoted it at international conferences. With his continuous efforts, the World Standard Time Program was finally approved at the International Conference on Longitude and Weft held in Washington in 1884. The meeting stipulates that the world will be divided into 24 time zones (12 time zones in east and west), and countries will adopt the standard time (GMT). The confirmation of world time has completely solved the timing problems that have always existed in the cross-zone transportation industry such as navigation and aviation, and has also promoted the trading and development of global financial markets. And for those business people who travel frequently around the world, this move is even more satisfying their need for time and energy control.
World Standard Time Inventor: Sandford Fleming (Stanford Fleming)
World Standard Time not only brings an orderly way of timing to the world, but also changes and influences the traditional form of the watchmaking industry. In 1935, the talented watchmaker Louis Cottier invented the structure of a world time zone watch that shocked the watch industry. With his exquisite design, 24 time zone representative cities are accommodated in the outer circle of the faceplate. When the local time is directly read in the conventional 12-hour mode, the time in the other 23 time zones can be read from the inner circle of the faceplate. Louis Cottier connects the hour hand to the inner ring that can be rotated for 24 hours. When the wearer adjusts the time, the hour hand advances for 1 hour, and the 24-hour graduated ring of the inner ring rotates counterclockwise for 1 hour. The total is 2 hours, which is exactly The time difference between a time zone. Louis Cottier named it Heures Universelles, from which the acronym HU of PatekPhilippe PatekPhilippe world time zone movement was derived.
Patek Philippe: Ref.515 (first world time watch) / Ref.96 HU
The invention of the world’s time zone watch structure is a feat in the horological world and the entire precision manufacturing industry, reflecting the extraordinary creation and imagination of talented watchmakers. Louis Cottier’s watchmaking talent quickly caught Patek Philippe’s attention. In 1937, Patek Philippe and Louis Cottier jointly launched the world’s first world timepiece, Ref.515. At the same time, Ref.515 was also the first time that Louis Cottier created the world time zone directly on a rectangular faceplate. In the same year, Patek Philippe and the talented watchmaker created the world’s smallest world time zone watch Ref.96 HU. The Patek Philippe World Time Watch has won numerous praises from all walks of life with its superb and sophisticated watchmaking skills, which has also established the brand’s leading position in the world time watch world.
The world watch is not only sought after by elites, but also deeply loved by politicians from all countries. The people of Geneva also used world time zone watches as a gift to military leaders who fought for peace in World War II. These art-scientific works have received high praise from leaders.
Patek Philippe World Time Series-Poseidon Inv. P-996
At the same time, as the pioneer and leader of world time watches, Patek Philippe is actively promoting the new revolution of world time watches. Respecting tradition and innovation, Patek Philippe launched the ‘World Time’ series of watches in 1940-Inv. P-996. This watch has 33 cities in the world. Control with pulse measurement scale. It is reported that this gold world time watch is tailor-made for a doctor in Paris.
Patek Philippe World Time Series-Poseidon Inv. P-1110
Patek Philippe soon launched Poseidon Inv. P-1110 in 1945. The colorful enamel drawing of the seahorse driving seahorse pattern and the 42 cities inscribed on the gold case shine brightly, demonstrating a different artistic texture. For the next half century, Patek Philippe’s exploration and innovation of world time watches never stopped.
Patek Philippe World Time Series-Ref. 5230G
Entering the 21st century, the development of industry and technology has made international trade begin to show a trend of blowout. The Patek Philippe World Time watch is favored by high-end people both as a time reading tool with 24 time zones and as an accessory to show personal taste and identity. In order to give the wearer a better time reading experience, Patek Philippe has made significant improvements to the World Time watch. Introduced the 5130 World Time Series in 2006, using a special crayon timepiece with an antique model, and increasing the watch diameter to 39.5 mm. The World Time Series Ref.5230, launched in 2016, is a new upgrade to the 5130 series. Led by Mrs. Sandrine Stern, the president of the brand, the design team took inspiration from traditional elements and abandoned the solemn ring-shaped hour hand and toffee minute hand, and adopted the hollow cross-shaped hour hand and diamond-shaped outline minute hand in the shape of the Southern Cross. The center of the faceplate is decorated with a hand-carved woven corrugated pattern, and its glyph surface is also coated with a transparent blue enamel coating. Patek Philippe once again echoes the traditional watchmaking philosophy with practical actions.
Patek Philippe’s first world time female watch-Ref. 7130
With the continuous innovation of the market and consumers, and women play an increasingly important role in social culture. Patek Philippe created the first world time female watch-Ref.7130, with a blue-gray face plate with a hand-carved pattern in the center. A 24-hour city disc and a shiny peacock-blue alligator leather strap set off elegant tones set against diamonds. Exquisite interpretation of elegant and noble quality and strict craftsmanship aesthetics.
Patek Philippe Ref. 5531R World Time Minute Repeater
Since the birth of the brand, the concept of innovation and creation has accompanied Patek Philippe through a century-long journey, constantly pushing the watchmaking technology to break through the boundaries and move to new heights. At the Baselworld Watch & Jewellery Show 2018, Patek Philippe launched the Ref. 5531R World Time Minute Repeater. Allows the wearer to see the world time at the same time, and at the same time know the accurate time of the current location through the melody sound of the minute repeater device. Today, Patek Philippe is the first watchmaking brand to successfully combine the two complex functions of world time and minute repeater.
As a time-honored and skilled watch brand, Patek Philippe not only creates legendary products with a nearly rigorous watchmaking attitude, but also strives to provide customers with quality service at the highest level. In 2008, in order to provide Chinese customers with a better service experience, Patek Philippe Beijing Yuandi moved to No. 23 Qianmen, Beijing. At the suggestion of Ms. Gerdi Stern, the mother of Mr. Thierry Stern, the exterior of Beijing Yuandi retains the elegance of neoclassicalism in the foreign embassy period, while the interior is presented in a classic European style. This sublime pursuit of architectural aesthetics and exquisite details reveals the brand’s long-term commitment and firm confidence in the Chinese market.
When we look back at the historical process of the development of Patek Philippe World Time Watches, we will find that the first representative city of East Eight District was Beijing, then changed to Hong Kong and has been in use today. On May 27, 2018, just as the tenth anniversary of Beijing’s source residence, Patek Philippe officially announced that the representative cities of the East Eight District of the ‘World Time World Watch’ series will officially return to Beijing in 2019. In the past ten years, Patek Philippe has continuously innovated and witnessed the changes and development of the times together with Chinese consumers by recording the time and remembering the years. Nowadays, the brand-new move of the eighth district of World Time Watch to represent Beijing is undoubtedly a homage to history. Patek Philippe World Time Watch will officially enter Beijing time next year.