Monday Morning With The Patek Philippe Alarm Travel Time Ref. 5520RG — A Two-Tone Grand Complication

You’ve seen the Patek Philippe Alarm Travel Time before but never in a two-tone look. Since Watches and Wonders 2024, there’s the reference 5520RG, a very complicated and exclusive travel watch in rose and white gold. The colorway might sound very 1990s, but the sunburst dial is very en vogue.

Do we start with the exclusive or the complicated nature of the Alarm Travel Time 5520RG? Since this is Fratello, maybe it’s better to start with the watch’s inner workings that put it in Patek’s Grand Complications collection. The mechanism that makes traveling the globe easy is the in-house, self-winding AL 30-660 S C FUS. The movement is protected by four patents and allows the wearer to keep track of two time zones and use a 24-hour alarm mechanism with a digital display of the alarm time. That’s impressive, but it might not be news to you because the caliber debuted in the platinum 5520P, the first iteration of the Alarm Travel Time from 2019. Still, the complexity doesn’t get boring soon. One peek through the sapphire crystal on the back shows you that this movement’s finishing never gets old either.

Experiencing the Patek Philippe Alarm Travel Time 5520RG

I am acutely aware that people buy many complicated Patek Philippe creations for reasons other than a horological fascination. You could label that a waste, but this is just a fact of luxury life. There are plenty more luxury objects that are bought and used without the owners knowing the stories behind them. Let me put it this way: the (ignorant) rich make it possible for the (well-informed) poor — sorry, “not-so-rich” — enthusiasts to enjoy the horological wonders of a string of high-end watchmakers.

This train of thought also leads to the question of whether the Patek Philippe Alarm Travel Time will always reach its full potential. Well, no. Just like most people’s smartphones and some people’s Bugattis, the watch, featuring a dual-time display with date indexed to local time and a 24-hour alarm with a classic hammer and gong, won’t be challenged to perform on its maximum level. The Travel Time pushers and the 2 o’clock pusher that activates/deactivates the alarm will most likely stay seated safely inside their patented safety-locking mechanism.

The four-crown affair

The 5520RG is a new reference in terms of materials and colorway, but, as I mentioned, it isn’t a completely new design. What do you think of this four-crown affair? You’ve had five years to get acquainted with its looks. Did you manage to not be affected by the harsh nickname this watch got? In other words, did you learn to love “Shrek”? The silhouette of the Patek Philippe Alarm Travel Time is impossible to ignore. It’s also very balanced and symmetric. Still, the design is a love/hate affair. There’s no middle ground with this watch.

So, what’s “two-tone” about the Patek Philippe Alarm Travel Time?

The “R” and the “G” in the 5220RG’s reference number indicate the use of two precious metals. But when you expect a two-tone watch, you might find yourself a bit puzzled. The 42.2 × 50.8 × 11.6mm case is all pink gold, for instance. And as you can see, there is no two-tone bracelet either. The chestnut calfskin strap with a vintage look has a pin buckle made in just one precious metal — rose gold. This watch deserves its “RG” designation because of the four white gold pusher tubes. You might have to look twice, but the four rose gold crowns do feature (barely) visible white gold tubes.

Yes, calling the 5520RG a “two-tone watch” is a bit of a stretch. But at least the sunburst dial shows two shades of gray. That, together with the applied charcoal-gray Arabic numerals in white gold and matching hands, helps create a somewhat two-tone look. FYI, since the Alarm Travel Time is inspired by pilot’s watches, the numerals and hands received a generous luminescent coating.

The radiant look of the dial might be polarizing. Watches with a functional heritage sporting shiny sunburst dials evoke strong reactions among some folks. Nevertheless, the dial is very interesting from a functional point of view. There are apertures for the alarm time and the alarm’s on/off and day/night indicators. Of course, you can read the home and local time via the central hands, and there are two separate day/night indicators for those time zones as well. The sword-shaped hour and minute hands look strong and functional, and the open-worked hand indicating the second time zone oozes refinement. So does the sweep seconds hand with its skeletonized counterbalance.

Pricing, availability, and final thoughts

Providing you with the correct pricing info is easy. The Patek Philippe Alarm Travel Time ref. 5520RG costs €254,930 / US$259,240 through the brand’s authorized dealers. Availability, however, is a different matter. Having a long and meaningful relationship with your AD might help you get this watch. And if you don’t have one, you might turn your attention to Chrono24. Unfortunately, it’s slim pickings on the site. At the time of publication, there’s just one example available with the price “on request.” By the way, in case you buy the watch but don’t care too much about the micromechanical masterpiece powering all the functions you don’t use, it comes with interchangeable all-gold and sapphire-equipped case backs.

How would you wear this watch that, despite using two contrasting shades of gold, is too “now” to give you 1990s vibes? It is a bit big, and I know this from personal experience. But that’s hardly a mortal sin for a watch with the (deeply hidden) DNA of a functional pilot’s watch. Anyway, would you wear it with an all-gold or transparent case back? And do you still see Shrek when confronted with the Patek Philippe Alarm Travel Time? Do you think this look is a bit too “fashionable” for a Patek? Please let me know in the comments.