The Patravi TravelTec II also features a side-mounted sapphire window, positioned directly under the monopusher that controls the time-zone settings, which offers a glimpse into the heart of the watch. The movement is Carl F. Bucherer’s automatic Caliber 1901.1 (a heavily modified version of the ETA 2894 chronograph movement and also used in the original TravelTec and TravelTec FourX), which carries a power reserve of 42 hours, and has been certified as a chronometer by COSC. In addition to enabling the watch to simultaneously display three separate time zones at once (one indicated on the dial by the hour and minute hand and applied indices, the second on the 24-hour scale printed on the inner ring and the third on the 24-hour engraved bezel), the movement’s sophisticated complication uses the monopusher at 10 o’clock to quickly move the hour indications from East and West (depending on which direction one is traveling) with the push of a button and even move the date both forward and backward along with the hour.
The side-view window is the only peek you’ll get at the movement, however, because the solid caseback of the Patravi TravelTec is devoted to another traveler-friendly function. It is adorned with a time-zone “sun,” which displays the hour differences of 24 cities, representing the 24 major time zones, from the prime meridian (Greenwich Mean Time, or GMT). Lucerne, Switzerland, headquarters of Carl F. Bucherer, is accented in black and represents the GMT +1 time zone.
The Carl F. Bucherer Patravi TravelTec’s tricompax dial features the small seconds subdial at 3 o’clock and the chronograph counter subdials (12 hours and 30 minutes) at 6 and 9 o’clock, respectively, along with the date window at 4:30. The chronograph pushers are at 2 and 4 o’clock, flanking the screw-down winding crown. The stainless steel case is water-resistant to 100 meters. The rubber strap with stitched leather inserts (and steel folding clasp) marries sportiness to luxury. Carl F. Bucherer says that the first pieces of its next-generation TravelTec will be available in November 2015 and priced around $12,000.