What hasn’t changed about the ww.tc is the functionality. Actually, some previous versions of the ww.tc included just the time and world time disc without the chronograph. It looks as though for the time being, the ww.tc will be purely about combining a world time watch with a chronograph – which is probably for the better. Since Girard-Perregaux originally released the ww.tc there have been a great deal of world time watches that have come to market, which used to be dominated by high-end pieces such as the Patek Philippe World Time (like the 5130). Now many brands including IWC, Baume & Mercier, Ball, Alpina, Frederique Constant, and others have in-house movements or modules that offer world time discs.

So, for Girard-Perregaux to focus on combining a world time complication with a chronograph creates a product with less competition. I have a feeling the ww.tc will incorporate both complications for the time being. It is possible that some of you aren’t yet familiar with how these world time discs work. They are wonderfully simple. Like 24 hour GMT hands, they make one full revolution each 24 hours. The disc is color coded for AM and PM time as well. The key is the rotating city disc around periphery of the dial. The older ww.tc has a second crown to adjust this disc, but with the Traveller ww.tc, you use the main crown for all functions.

When you travel, you set the disc to display the reference city for your local time at the top of the dial. You then simply follow the 24 hour disc to see the time in any other timezone. So in the above picture, if it is 10:06 AM in Puerto Rico, it would be 2:06 PM (14:06) in London. See how that works? You can see that Girard-Perregaux chose to use a more modern font for the cities in this new watch. How do you feel about it?

The older ww.tc and new Traveller ww.tc watches both contain the same base Girard-Perrgaux produced GP03300 automatic movement with chronograph and world time (and date) module. There are a few little differences, but the movement is more or less the same, which isn’t at all bad thing. If you recall aBlogtoWatch reviewed the ceramic version of the Girard-Perregaux ww.tc watch here and really enjoyed it. The older ww.tc was more of a tool watch that was dressed up in various skins for style or luxury. It was never a “gorgeous” watch, but was functional, quality-made, and worked well so that you could not help but love it. We still do… With the Traveller ww.tc, Girard-Perregaux adds a higher degree of pizazz and sportiness. We are happy to see the brand clearly aiming at the Western market but with a decidedly sober product.

Compared to the older ww.tc, the Traveller ww.tc is 44mm wide versus 43mm wide. Though, this new incarnation of the watch wears a lot larger due to the large lugs and prominent crown. It is much more of a wrist statement than its predecessor was. Girard-Perregaux produced the original in a wonderful array of styles and materials, and we can only hope that they will follow suit with the Traveller ww.tc. At launch there will be a few version, with none sitting in the high-luxury chair for now (i.e. no precious metals yet). Between about three dial styles there is the Traveller ww.tc in steel with either a white (49700-11-133-BB6B) or black dial (49700-11-631-BB6B). The Traveller ww.tc in a titanium case with white dial (49700-21-132-HBBB), and a version with a steel case and ceramic bezel with white dial (49700-82-131-BB6C). The addition of a titanium version as well as ceramic bezel at launch is appreciated and all Traveller ww.tc watches come on alligator straps with rubber liners. Available now, prices start at $16,000 which actually isn’t a price increase over the previous models. girard-perregaux.com