Flying high requires more than a plane ticket. Patek Philippe knows this better than anyone, as evidenced by the decades of cultish fervor surrounding its World Time watches. Ever since the release of the reference 515 HU in 1937—the Swiss brand’s earliest known watch based on Louis Cottier’s groundbreaking movement, which allowed for tracking time zones around the world—it has been highly sought after by collectors, both on the primary market and at auction. (One of the three known 515s was sold at Christie’s in 2011 for nearly $500,000.)
Last year the handsome new 5330G became haute horlogerie’s latest chunk of coveted unobtainium. For the uninitiated, what makes the World Time so ingenious is its ability to display international time zones at a glance—the world on your wrist, so to speak. A rotating city ring encircles the dial, corresponding to a 24-hour ring that shifts automatically as the hands move. Cities represented on the bezel range from New York to Tokyo, Anchorage to Cairo. London is a mainstay as well—unless you’re British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran, for whom Patek Philippe created a pièce unique 5320G that shows his hometown of Framlingham, England.
The 5330G comes in a 40mm white gold case and features an opaline blue-gray dial on a trompe l’oeil calfskin strap that has the appearance of denim. It’s a watch built for those whose world stretches beyond borders. If they’re flying commercial, it’s because they choose to.
This story originally appeared in the May 2025 issue of Elle Decor. SUBSCRIBE
Patek Philippe 5330G WorldTime watch, $76,590, patek.com. Photograph By Joe Lingeman. Produced by Will Kahn. Styled by Miako Katoh.
Charles Curkin is ELLE Decor’s Articles Editor, covering everything related to luxury watches, design, and travel, and has previously written for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Paris Review.
