Patek Philippe Le Voyage exhibition: A journey through the history of its world time and travel time watches

The exclusive event paid tribute to the maison’s travel watches and their relationship with maritime navigation and travel.

Over 400 media friends, clients and watchmaking enthusiasts were invited to attend Patek Philippe’s exhibition, Le Voyage, earlier in January. Held at the historic Fullerton Bay Hotel, guests gathered in small groups at Clifford Pier to embark on their grand voyages to the Mediterranean Riviera, the Baltic Treasures and the Spirit of the Far East – the three themes that would guide their journey as they explored the exclusive collection of Patek Philippe travel watches.

As guests stepped onto the former landing jetty, they were immediately transported to a scene of a luxury cruise liner; complete with sounds of crashing waves and boarding ramps to the Le Voyage ship, which served as a captivating backdrop for photographs. Once “onboard”, they were ushered into the Patek Philippe lounge, which housed a bar serving themed cocktails and beverages alongside a grand timeline of the manufacture’s travel watches beginning from 1937.

The first of seven exhibition suites highlighted the manufacture’s association with the history of established time zones and the developments of transatlantic and intercontinental flights with four images of Patek Philippe Museum pieces – Ref. P-1373 Pocket Watch Time with Three-Time Zones (1900-1901), Ref. 605 HU World Time Dress Watch (1949), Ref. 1415 World Time Dress Watch (1939) and Ref. 2597 Two Time Zones (1958-1960).

The Movement suite combined videos that vividly illustrated five pioneering movements for World Time, including the calibres 240 HU and CH 28 520 HU, as well as Travel Time, which featured the calibres 324 S C FUS, CH 28-520 FUS and Al30-660S C FUS on totem displays. Guests were invited to closely inspect the movements before a more intimate presentation by a Patek Philippe watchmaker on the 240 HU and 324 S C FUS movements.

The Advanced Research suites immersed guests into the technical aspects of watchmaking, showcasing an interactive video incorporated with a comprehensive display of flexible components. Highlighting the aesthetic creativity expressed through Patek Philippe travel watches – whether in case design, exclusive hand shapes or dial decoration – was the highlight of the Creativity suite.

One of the major highlights of the exhibition was the Current Collection suite, which displayed the entire current collection of 16 Patek Philippe timepieces with World Time and Travel Time functions for men and women. These included the Ref. 5520P Alarm Travel Time and the new Ref. 7234G Calatrava Pilot Travel Time. Guests then adjourned to the spacious Dining Salon where they were served a scrumptious meal and refreshments specially created to reflect the “voyage” of the day.

(All images: Patek Philippe)