Jet-setters, whether you’re crossing the date line, or just traveling through the night, you can now reset the time and date on your wrist with the push of a single button.
Patek Philippe began creating World Time watches after the advent of transatlantic flights in the 1930s, when aviation allowed rapid travel across multiple time zones in a single day.
While other world time watches equipped with a date function require manual setting of the time and date, the Patek Philippe World Time Ref. The 5330G-001 automatically synchronizes the date with your new time zone, intelligently advancing the calendar at midnight.
Or, if you’re crossing the International Date Line from west to east, turn the calendar back one day.
The new watch and its patented technology were presented for the first time in 2023 to commemorate Patek Philippe’s grand “Watch Art” exhibition in Tokyo.
While that limited edition featured a purple dial with a matching purple strap, the new 2024 blue-gray version — now available worldwide — offers a more casual vibe, thanks to its denim-look strap.
The date display lies on a beveled flange at the edge of the dial. A red-tipped hand crafted from transparent glass, another first for the brand, displays the date. The city disc and the 24-hour disc (divided into day and night zones) are located just inside the date ring. As a traveler selects their new time zone—displayed at the 12 o’clock position—the hour and minute hands will indicate the local time.
This new generation World Time is the culmination of nearly 100 years of travel innovations from the Swiss brand. Patek Philippe began creating World Time watches after the advent of transatlantic flights in the 1930s, when aviation allowed rapid travel across multiple time zones in a single day.
Patek Philippe watches provided an essential tool for newly seasoned globe-trotters, allowing all 24 world time zones to be read at a glance. Since then, the house has continued to make strides to perfect its travel innovations.
Its current Time World offerings now include six pieces, including a flyback chronograph.
The sporty and informal look of this latest reference belies its mechanical complexity. The center of the watch’s opaline dial has a woven carbon fiber motif, and its calfskin strap is embossed to resemble blue jeans. The 40mm, 18K white gold watch is fitted with a sapphire-crystal caseback, allowing a full view of its fully polished self-winding movement.
This makes it easy to see why you might want to date one on the fly.
The United Arab Emirates of Dubai is forever in the headlines for its hyperbolic endeavors: the world’s tallest skyscraper, the first ski slope in the Middle East, the largest shopping mall in the region. In this desolate city—one of the fastest growing in the world, where 88% of the population is foreign-born—conventional wisdom has long held that the more gilded, the more wrapped, the more dazzling, the more more luxurious. But that’s all about to change with the opening of Dorchester’s Lana Hotel.
In 2012, Mahdi Amjad had a modern vision for his adopted country. (He was born in Iraq.) As Dubai became an international business and entertainment hub, the developer believed that so would the tastes of its residents. After the global financial crisis had passed, the government dug a canal from the Dubai Creek to the east, to the downtown location of a planned (and destroyed) military base. The expansion enabled the development of a new quarter, the Marasi Marina in Business Bay, anchored by a lagoon directly opposite the Burj Khalifa (the aforementioned skyscraper in the world) and the “cultural” center known as the Dubai Mall (which billed itself as the most visited country in the world in 2023). The cranes went up – and with them, Amjad’s first step towards building a luxury hotel that would defy the gloom that dominates every other resort in the city, from the Palm Jumeirah to the Burj Al Arab.
With a sparkling rooftop pool, Lana brings a luxury ethos that doesn’t need to gild the lily to Dubai. Courtesy of The LanaThe hotel is part of a floating building in the air designed by Foster + Partners. Courtesy of The Lana
Amjad scoured the planet for a partner who shared his vision, eventually joining forces with London’s ultra-stylish Dorchester Collection hotel group. “I come from a residential background, so I always think about living spaces first, even in a hotel,” says Amjad, who is the founder and executive chairman of UAE development company Omniyat. “It doesn’t matter how extraordinary you create a building. If you don’t have an exceptional level of service, you don’t have an exceptional living experience.” And the boy delivered Dorchester.
Guests at Lana – the Dorchester Collection’s 10th hotel and first in the Middle East – enter through a porte cochere, where doormen decked out in breakfast suits with top hats offer a gloved hand to help them alight from the usual estate Rolls-Royces. Inside the 104-room, 121-suite accommodation, they are greeted in the Gallery (aka the Lobby) by sandy hues that reflect the Arabian desert – and zero gold.
The luxury here is not in the gilding, but in the textures, artwork, craftsmanship and amenities. Foster + Partners designed the stunning building, and while it stands out, sways and frames every enviable view of the city, it remains understated and graceful. French designers Gilles & Boissier dressed in a four-story draped chandelier, coffered ceilings, trolley-only bar service, intricate tile work and pink banquettes for afternoon tea.
The hotel offers 104 rooms and 121 suites – all elegantly appointed – from $925 per night. Courtesy of The LanaCulinary delights include pastries from world champion Angelo Musa. Hein van Tonder
A reflective wavy ceiling makes everyone look great at Jara, the hotel’s Basque restaurant (another first for Dubai), designed by 12-star Michelin chef Martín Berasategui, using wood-fire techniques. He’s in good company: French star chef Jean Imbert runs the hotel’s Côte d’Azur-inspired restaurant, Riviera, on the fourth floor, and High Society, an infinity pool with an adjacent cocktail bar on the 30th-floor rooftop. of, influenced by the ancient kingdoms that worshiped the sun. Upstairs, world pastry champion Angelo Musa cooks up an amazing tater tot that may be the best on the menu at Hôtel Plaza Athénée, where he is executive pastry chef. There is also a speakeasy where the bar manager can put whiskey in your favorite cigar for your next visit.
But where Lana really departs from the pack is in her spacious guest rooms. No detail has been overlooked: freestanding bathtubs with views, Vispring beds (just like British royalty sleep), Dyson hair dryers with custom colors in the suites, floor-to-ceiling windows and balconies (even in the entry-level rooms ) and an amenity we’ve never seen in any hotel anywhere: a double electric clock. (We see you, Hublot fans!) You’ll be tempted to never leave the spacious rooms that start at 600 square meters, but the Dior Spa and gym on the 29th floor await.
Spacious guest rooms offer breathtaking views and freestanding bathtubs. Courtesy of The Lana
Lana officially opened in February, and despite the high prices, the brand says it’s doing brisk business. (As are the adjacent full-service residences.) It’s a marked departure from the Atlantis and the Taj and other top Dubai beach resorts, but if this urban oasis can’t sway Emirati design preferences and immigrants, we are not sure what can. European snobs are already sold. “It’s so beautiful, it’s like a dream,” Alexa tells French pastry chef Musa. “I wanted to cry when it opened.”
You probably won’t cry, but you might recalibrate your feelings about this fast-growing Emirate and its new approach to luxury. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself booking a return trip to the desert oasis before you even get out. Dubai, it seems, has come a long way, honey. And Lana is in charge. Rooms from $925; The Dorchester Collection
