Carl F. Bucherer Patravi TravelTec Color Edition Four Seasons

The Carl F. Bucherer Patravi TravelTec is a watch with a name that says it all. It is made to travel and it is by far one of the most technical watches of its kind. Three time zones, a chronograph, COSC certification, a modern look and an infinity of details all around make it hyper practical. There’s a lot going on aboard this piece. An already bold watch in its most classic editions, this year the brand has decided to make it even more striking with four new colourful editions. Vivid and bright, meet the new Carl F. Bucherer Patravi TravelTec Color Edition Four Seasons.

I’m confident in saying that the Patravi TravelTec is one of our founder’s favourite watches. Frank has always had a crush on this watch, which he considers one of the most practical of its kind. We can’t blame him for that; the Patravi TravelTec is packed with functions, not just functions for the sake of functions, but functions that are useful on a daily basis – at least when travelling.

The Carl F. Bucherer Patravi TravelTec is born to travel and can display three time zones at once, an attribute it has always boasted since the introduction of the model in 2006. In addition, the way this has been achieved is a technical achievement, since CFB integrates part of the time zone mechanism into the case of the watch – an innovation that has since been patented. The first of the time zones is the local time, read classically with the central hands. And then comes the central GMT hand, the double 24-hour scale on the periphery of the dial and the mono-pusher at 10 o’clock. The second time zone is located on the outermost 24-hour scale with smaller white Arabic numerals and is set at the crown in position 2. This scale is fixed and is used to indicate home time. The third time zone is indicated by the larger rotating 24-hour scale located directly above the hour indices with large white Arabic numerals and signalled with a triangular-tipped hand – adjusted by releasing the locking pusher at 10 o’clock, and then the adjustment mechanism of the third time zone kicks in. And this can be done east and west, or with and against time. The cool factor: the sophisticated mechanism required for selecting the corresponding time zone can be observed through a window that has been cut into the side of the case.

And there’s more to the Carl F. Bucherer Patravi TravelTec… Because it also features a chronograph with 3 sub-counters and a date window, under a circular magnifying glass. All of these complications are powered by an automatic movement, the calibre CFB 1901.1, based on the architecture of the ETA 2894 then heavily modified by CFB to integrate the multiple time zones and adjustment devices. The movement, with a 4Hz frequency and a 42h power reserve, is chronometer-certified by COSC.

New for 2020, the Carl F. Bucherer Patravi TravelTec Color Edition Four Seasons is available in four new models. The case is identical to previous versions and is made of brushed and polished steel and measures a robust 46.6mm in diameter. The crown screws-down and the watch is water-resistant to 50 metres. The idea was to introduce bright, vivid colours to match the seasons: green for spring, yellow for summer, orange for autumn and blue for winter. On all models, the inner flanges and the sub-counters are contrasting in black. These are worn on rubber straps matching the colour of the dial. There’s no doubt about it: these are bold editions.

The Carl F. Bucherer Patravi TravelTec Color Edition Four Seasons will be part of the permanent collection (not limited) and priced at EUR 9,300. More details at www.carl-f-bucherer.com.