Contact tmosso@thewatchbox.com for pricing and availability; Either I have it, or I can get it! Rolex GMT-Master 2 “Pepsi” 116719 BLRO vs. Patek Philippe 5524G Calatrava Pilot Travel Time; this week’s luxury watch contest has all the hallmarks of an epic; Rolex vs. Patek Philippe; GMT-Master 2 vs. Calatrava Pilot Travel Time; Geneva’s finest pilot’s watches go head-to-head to determine the ultimate aviator’s co-pilot for the cockpit, ready room, or pilot’s bar!

The Rolex GMT-Master 2 “Pepsi” roared back to life with 2014’s Baselworld launch of the GMT Master II 116719 BLRO. As the first Rolex Cerachrom ceramic bezel GMT to bear the watch’s original red-and-white 24-hour calculator bezel, the new “BLRO” was an historic milestone for Rolex. But unlike the steel 2013 Rolex GMT-Master II 116710 BLNR “Batman,” the new “Pepsi” was a white gold flagship equally at home in the cockpit or lounge of a Gulfstream jet.

The white gold 116719 BLRO, like the steel 2018 Rolex “Pepsi” GMT 126710 BLRO, is defined by its bezel; red represents the day, and blue represents time zones currently experiencing night. By setting the 24-hour GMT hand to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), the user of the Rolex GMT-Master 2 can temporarily read three distinct time zones on the dial. As with all Rolex GMT Master II models, the BLRO features a 24-hour hand and a 12-hour hand that can be set independently of each other. A Rolex manufacture caliber 3186 is automatic, certified by the COSC as a Swiss Chronometer, provides a 48-hour power reserve, and can enter a stop-second mode (hacking) to set precisely. The Rolex Oyster case and Triplock crown provide 100-meter water resistance.

Patek Philippe launched its 5524G-001 Calatrava Pilot Travel Time to a mildly stunned Baselworld audience in 2015. The 42mm white gold pilot’s watch bears little relation to any production piece from Patek Philippe’s past. Although a 53mm monster prototype from the Patek Philippe Museum was cited as inspiration, the dual-time mechanism in the Calatrava Pilot Travel Time owes more to the seminal Patek Philippe 2597, a travel time watch designed for Patek by watchmaking great Louis Cottier.

But Patek Philippe’s unexpected offering is as beautiful as it is non-sequitur. The dial – a richly grained navy blue – rewards loupe viewing to the same degree as the caliber 324 SC FUS. Patek graces the 5524G with lush white gold Arabic numerals with thick applications of luminova. The travel time display system is clear, intuitive to use, and allows the owner to hide the skeletonized reference hour hand under the local hour hand when not in use. Twin travel time triggers require one quarter turn to lock and unlock; 60-meter water resistance is double the typical Calatrava and sufficient for surface swimming.

The Calatrava Pilot Travel time features an automatic caliber 324 variant optimized to display two time zones, a radial date, and twin night/day displays. It boasts Patek’s proprietary Gyromax free-sprung balance and silicon Spiromax anti-magnetic hairspring. The hand-finished surfaces of the movement are executed with exhaustive attention to detail and a luxurious excess of visible refinements. Ceramic rotor bearings and unidirectional action wind the 35-45-hour power reserve; six-position adjustment ensures the Patek Philippe-guaranteed rate of -3/+2 seconds per day or better.

Rolex’s 60-year legacy in the cockpit and Patek Philippe’s upstart ace vie for blue-sky supremacy this airborne episode of Versus!

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