Patek Philippe‘s Cubitus line of watches—its first new collection in 25 years—landed with a splash, but not the kind the brand was expecting.
Leaked a few days ahead of today’s launch due to an ad that debuted ahead of the embargo in Fortune magazine (much to Patek’s dismay), the reveal had watch enthusiasts so shocked, there are entire YouTube videos dedicated to whether it’s fake or not. In fact, even serious longtime collectors we spoke with ahead of the reveal said they also thought it was fake. Some even thought the company had leaked the release itself on purpose. “We don’t do a lot of surprises in our strategy,” said a Patek Philippe executive at a dinner ahead of the release in Munich on Wednesday.
Thinking outside the box for a top-of-the-line luxury brand like Patek Philippe instead meant the drop of a new watch collection that looked awfully close to its longtime bestseller, the Nautilus. “You should not always reinvent everything from zero,” says Patek Philippe president Thierry Stern from the company’s German HQ in Munich. “Why? Take the best of what you know and improve it.” The leaked model, the 45 by 9.6 mm platinum Ref. 5822P ($88,378), sports the same navy horizontal embossed pattern, hour and minute hands, dotted minutes track, and similar—if not more angled and pronounced—indices. Like all platinum Pateks it has a diamond on the edge of the case, but this time it’s baguette-cut to nod to the edgier elements of this timepiece. The most notable difference is a more square shape to the octagonal case, which differs from the more rounded Nautilus. The effect is a bit more brutalist in nature. Some have accurately described it as a mix between the Nautilus, a Gerard Charles, and a Cartier Santos Dumont case. The second striking difference is the big date at 12 o’clock. The platinum model is the only reference to come on a strap—made of an ultra-resistant composite material embossed with a fabric motif. Stern says the original prototype was equipped with a platinum bracelet, but it was too heavy. (Indeed, even without the metal bracelet the platinum case adds significant heft.)
Beyond the case shape, the big news for the Ref. 5822P is its new movement, the Caliber 240 PS CI J LU, which is based on the 240PS IRM CLU. It combines a large date window, moon phase, and day of the week indications that all change simultaneously in 18 milliseconds. The caliber resulted in the filing of six patents for its tangential brake, dual-function spring mechanism, flexible corrector, dual-function spring, flexible plate, and positioning mechanism. Many of these serve to facilitate the perfect alignment of the date digits and the ability to correct all of the indications at any time of the day.
Otherwise, the platinum model features the same layout as the Nautilus Ref. 5712—with the date and moon phase indicator subdial between 6 and 8 o’clock and the seconds subdial between 4 and 5 o’clock—minus the power reserve indicator. Two other time-only timepieces sport dials that look the same as a 5711 with a regular-sized date window at 3 o’clock. The 45 by 8.3 mm Ref. 5821/1A ($41,243) comes in steel with an olive green dial, while the 45 by 8.3 mm Ref. 5821/1AR ($61,276) is a steel and 18-karat rose gold model with a navy dial. Both colors have already been featured on previous Nautilus and Aquanaut models and continue in the company’s third collection of “sporty, elegant” timepieces, as they call them.
Early reviews at the time of the leak were unfavorable. On vintage watch specialist and influencer Mike Nouveau’s Instagram—among the earliest to catch onto the leak—comments ran the gamut from “It’s just a more square Nautilus. I’m not sure if I like it or not lol,” from @anthony_gio7 to “It’s bed time—thanks for giving me a new nightmare,” from @davidecanter. However, @watcheskick may have put it more accurately: “How many here will comment it’s ugly but text their ADs immediately to get on the wait list?” Even as the frenzy for watches experienced during the pandemic has waned, Patek Philippe timepieces, particularly the Nautilus, have decades-long waitlists. Even if the Cubitus doesn’t initially have the same desirability as its sibling, prospective clients will likely still not be able to come by one easily.
Stern is not the least bit concerned when confronted about the comparisons to the Nautilus. In fact, he says “they’re right.” He adds that he absolutely looked to both the Nautilus and Aquanaut to create the Cubitus. He also considered pieces from Patek Philippe’s history. “We had some from the past,” he says, referring to previous square-shape models. “Even I created one a long time ago for the 1599—the most complex case we ever did until today.” He even looked at the square models of other brands. “I saw some very cool ones, like the Monaco from TAG Heuer, but it’s too thick; it doesn’t really fit when I put it on the wrist.” Mostly, the impetus was that he simply wanted a square watch and came up with the name Cubitus and voilà, it was born. It sounds simple, but it was years in the works.
To plan for its arrival, Stern slightly reduced the number of Nautiluses produced last year and discontinued the 5711 in 2021. When asked whether or not he was worried if the new collection would only serve to further induce hype around the Nautilus, he says, “No, because it’s already done. The amount of Nautiluses this year are the same as next year, so no, I don’t think it’s a problem. We anticipated that. We didn’t want to be in this trouble.” He adds that overall the company has decreased the number of new models from 20 to 30 per year and came down to 15.
So how did the Cubitus fare in person? Honestly, it is much more appealing on the wrist. And yes, it looks just like the Nautilus. A fellow journalist was wearing a Nautilus and neck to neck they are even more similar than one would have thought from the leaked images. The thinness of the case size is certainly going to be appealing, and despite the fact that the case is 45 mm (the diagonal line from edge to edge), it wears smaller than one would think. Our prediction is that the rush will be for the olive green time-only, but the platinum model will certainly still appeal to some heavyweight collectors.
Even if you think it’s too square, in both senses of the word, the Cubitus is bound to have its moment in the spotlight. And if you love it, you won’t be able to get your hands on one any time soon unless you are part of Patek’s elite inner circle. Despite the fact that Stern says the new collection is aimed at bringing in a fresh crop of younger clientele, Patek novices will remain aspirational. “The first ones will go to all the VIPs and the big clients of the retailers,” Stern admits. “And they will come and say, ‘Oh, I’m a big client. I’m a big collector. I would like to be the first one to have it.’ And guess what the retailer will say? Yes.” Patek Philippe may be taking some big risks, but rest assured the launch of Cubitus is nothing short of calculated.
For more images of the Patek Philippe Cubitus Collection click here.
Photography: Patek Philippe
Additional Photography: Jean-Daniel Meyer
