Guide to the Patek Philippe World Time 5230 Limited Edition
Over the years Patek Philippe has presented limited editions of the 5230, dedicated to different cities and countries around the world
About two weeks ago, Hodinkee published a video in which singer, guitarist and watch collector John Mayer leads the very popular "Talking Watches" format by interviewing one of his famous colleagues and great collector as well, Ed Sheeran.
The British songwriter showed some truly stunning timepieces with many unique pieces, all related to special milestones and moments in his life, especially in his artistic career.
Among Casio, Hublot, Tudor, and Audemars, one watch attracted a lot of attention among enthusiasts around the world and it is a unique piece produced by Patek Philippe.
It is a World Time 5230G where London has been replaced with Ed Sheeran's hometown of Framlingham. The case is 18-carat white gold, while the dial features a coloring that has never been seen on a World Time before, with a rather light shade of blue.
This complication, which allows all 24 time zones to be shown in a single watch, was first produced by Patek Philippe in 1939 with the reference 1415, which remained in production until 1953 and 1954 when the maison launched the 2523 until 1965 when the creation of new World Time would be stopped until the 2000s.
With the new century came various references until the introduction in 2016 of the 5230, which is still in production today.
In recent years, thanks to the 24 city names on the dial, Patek Philippe has often used this model to celebrate boutique anniversaries or major watchmaking art exhibitions.
Ed Sheeran's unique piece is not the only special edition made by Patek Philippe over the years, however; in addition to this one there have been numerous limited editions all dedicated to different countries or cities around the world. We have counted other 10 of them, but there may be other mysterious or hidden pieces.
New York: 5230G-010
One year after the launch of this reference, on the occasion of the "Art Of Watches Grand Exhibition 2017," Patek Philippe released this limited model in 300 pieces.
As can be seen, inside the dial is the Manhattan skyline with an embossed effect, all in a blue color scheme.
Both because of the number of pieces produced and the beauty of the timepiece, this edition is one of the best known of the reference.
Bogotà: 5230R-010 and 5230G-011
One year after the New York edition, Patek in 2018 creates a new limited to mark the 125th anniversary of Joyeria Bauer, the house's historic retailer located in Bogota.
In this case inside the dial New York has been replaced with the Colombian capital, to make this reference even more visible the city is written in red. Also on the case back is the dealer's logo.
There are two models of this series, both limited to 10 pieces, the first being the 5230R-010 in rose gold, the one you see in the photo above, while there is also the 5230G-011 in white gold, also limited to 10 pieces.
Manama: 5230R-011 and 5230G-013
Also in the version for Bahrain, similarly to the one dedicated to Bogota, Patek produces the two versions in rose gold and white gold, with the indication of the city to which the watch is dedicated in red. In fact, the 24-hour city ring includes Bahrain's capital Manama instead of the city of Moscow.
This limited edition dates back to 2017 and was made to celebrate Patek Philippe's 50th year in the country. In fact, the dial has a bright red color in honor of the Bahraini flag.
Both the rose gold and white gold configurations were produced in 25 pieces.
Rome: 5230R-013
In 2019 it is Rome's turn. This time the anniversary to be celebrated is the 225th anniversary of the historic Roman watchmaker Hausmann & Co.
For the occasion Patek has made two Rare Handcraft, one hundred Calatrava ref. 5296 and twenty-five World Time ref. 5230. Playing on the lexical construction of the number of watches results in the word two hundred and twenty-five.
The dial is crimson red like the coat of arms of the city and the Roman Empire, and as usual the 24-hour disc shows the city of Rome, at the expense of Paris. The case back, on the other hand, features the retailer's logo.
Mexico: 5230G-022
In this case instead of a specific city, as we have seen so far, Patek decided to dedicate this watch to Mexico.
The dial takes up the colors of the state flag and the nation's name is repotted in red as usual. The case back is engraved "1994 - MEXICO - 2019."
In 2019, Patek was celebrating the brand's 25th anniversary in the country thanks to Gruppo Mondi, to whom this limited edition is dedicated.
Only 40 pieces were produced of this model.
Shangai: 5230P-010
Of all the limited editions we have seen so far and of all the ones we will see later, this model is the only one to be made in platinum.
To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Patek Philippe Maison in Shanghai, which opened in 2012, the brand decided to hold a special exhibition about a year ago.
For this event, in addition to other celebratory models, this configuration of the 5230 was also made, produced in 25 pieces.
On the case back is the celebratory inscription, "10 Years 2012-2022 Patek Philippe Maison Shanghai," while the dial has black, red and gold colors to echo those of the Chinese city.
Liverpool: 5230G-012
The Liverpool is certainly one of the boldest configurations with this combination of pink and black.
It was produced in 2018 in 50 pieces to celebrate the 220th anniversary of retailer Patek Philippe Boodles, founded in Liverpool in 1798.
Unlike the other models, the city of "Liverpool" appears in pink instead of "London." The center of the dial is decorated with ebony black guilloché, and the case back features the engraving: "Boodles 1798-2018."
Taipei: 5230G-032
One of the most beautiful colorways is definitely the limited edition for Taipei, produced in 50 pieces.
This is also the last model in chronological order because it was made this year to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Taiwanese retailer King's Sign Watch & Co.
To conclude the limited editions missed the one dedicated to Kuwait and the one dedicated to Doha.
Of the first edition, a watch of it first appeared for sale at Phillips during the Hong Kong Auction: XVI in May this year and sold for about €33,805.
In this edition the inscription "Moscow" is replaced with "Kuwait" in red and the case back has been decorated with Kuwait's royal emblem.
The Doha limited edition was produced in 2020 in 150 pieces. For this watch there are fewer differences from the classic model except for some variations in the names of the cities within the 24-hour disc, including Doha.
Special editions related to various parts of the world are also made on other models, as in the case of the 5330 for Tokyo that we show at the conclusion of this guide.
Tokyo: 5330G-010
This is one of the most recent limited editions. In fact, it was launched for the Watch Art Grand Exhibition in Tokyo in 2023.
In addition to the many references to Japan, starting with the city of Tokyo placed at twelve o'clock and the use of the characteristic Japanese sun to indicate the day, this timepiece is Patek Philippe's first watch with a world time complication and date display.
It was made in 300 pieces and available only in Japan.
These are the limited editions we have discovered so far. We will update you in case we find any other hidden models or in case Patek decides to introduce new ones.
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