The Patek Philippe World Time wristwatch was initially introduced in 1937 encased in a small 31mm ref. 96 case. The success of the world time wristwatch was largely due to its superbly practical complication operated by a pusher on the case band with an inner rotating bezel complete with 24 various time zones. Furthermore, Patek Philippe world time wristwatches gained a special following not just for its extremely impressive functionality, but for its artistry in creating some of the most beautiful cloisonné enamel dials featuring various motifs depicting a map of continents. Cloisonné enamel dials are extremely meticulous to execute. With a requirement of highly skilled enamellers to create the perfect motif through applying extremely thin gold wiring to outline components and then with enamel poured in for coloration and the dial will be baked inside an oven to solidify the enamel which results in a beautiful and vibrant piece of art on the dial.

The ref. 5131 was introduced in 2008 and was encased in yellow gold with enamel dial. Since then, the reference has introduced a variant in pink gold, white gold and with the latest variant platinum with bracelet. With an upgraded self-winding cal. 240 HU, the watch also features the signature engraved on the solid bezel with “Patek Philippe” positioned on 12 O’clock and “Geneve” positioned on the 6 O’clock. Furthermore, enamel dials depicting continents feature various maps. The dial on the present example displays the continents of the western hemisphere and belongs to the second series examples of yellow gold reference 5131, featuring “La Paz” instead of “Caracas” and “Riyadh” instead of “Dubai”. Offered in excellent overall condition and complete with the full set of accessories, this is a fantastic opportunity to acquire an important discontinued piece.