Hip to Be a Square: The Patek Philippe Cubitus

A visual of the brand-new Patek Philippe Cubitus, the first new line to launch at the venerable Genevan manufacture in 25 years, very unfortunately leaked online about a week ahead of its strictly embargoed launch date.

The reason that this is unfortunate is that, as we saw with the Audemars Piguet Code 11.59 in 2019, it is incredibly hard to fully judge a watch by a digital photo or rendering. And once such a visual has been leaked on social media networks without context, it may fall prey to trolls and highly unqualified (and sometimes just downright mean) pre-judgement, which spreads like wildfire – meaning that the Patek Philippe watch hardly has a chance to be seen in a non-judgmental light.

As a professional watch journalist for more than 30 years, I have seen my fair share of watches that weren’t to my personal taste. But, as a professional watch journalist, I never felt that it was my job to express my personal taste to the public reading my story. My job was to explain the creation of the watch and present it neutrally.

Sure, my job has changed somewhat in today’s world, thanks to the internet. Opinions from trusted sources are valued, and so I provide my opinion now and then.

The New Patek Philippe Cubitus: A Matter of Taste

In 2009 then-president Philippe Stern passed the company presidency to his son, Thierry Stern. The junior Stern is, of course, of a different generation, and most of the watches that have launched since he took over have been rather different in detail. That’s called evolution. Without change, a brand will become stagnant. But somehow that’s what people expect of Patek Philippe: that Thierry continue like his father and those who came before him. But, like any good leader, he’s not doing that. He’s got his own style and feel for his generation. And my opinion is that should be respected.

Thierry Stern’s “new” style has gifted us among other things with the odd titanium Patek (like Reference 5270T for Only Watch), a very fresh young Patek Philippe Calatrava style (Ref. 6007), the ingenious worldtimer Reference 5330G-001 with a strap that looks like it’s made of denim (talk about style!), and a very limited edition repeating alarm watch with his father’s face rendered on the dial (Ref. 1938P-001). Not everyone has loved these watches, and not everyone has hated them. But one thing is certain: they have all been extensively talked and written about. And, above all, they have been bought by consumers.

When I think back to the launch of the A. Lange & Söhne Odysseus in October 2019, which I had seen twice before the Instagram trolls had a chance to make fun of it for being new and departing from what they had already known from the brand, I remember feeling a great deal of anger and sadness all at the same time. I needn’t have felt anything, though: it still has a waiting list that is years long. A. Lange & Söhne’s first serial steel watch remains a solid success story despite the trolls. But it also didn’t leak prematurely.

All that to say: while the square Patek Philippe Cubitus may not be everyone’s cup of tea, I don’t think it is meant to be. The Patek Philippe Cubitus is definitely going to be for individualists, first and foremost because of its shaped case. So let’s explore this new watch model.

Patek Philippe Cubitus

The Patek Philippe Cubitus is a reinterpretation of the sporty 1976-designed Nautilus. The family resemblance is unmistakable. Its square case with rounded corners is fairly unique while the dial with horizontal embossed stripes is a detail taken directly from the Patek Philippe Nautilus playbook. To refresh the memory, Patek Philippe is no stranger to shapes. The Golden Ellipse, an oval-shaped watch first seen in 1968, is a great example. The Nautilus and Aquanaut collections aren’t exactly round, either, if you look at them closely.

And the rectangular Patek Philippe Gondolo and Patek Philippe Twenty-4 models, introduced respectively in 1993 and 1999, remain popular. The Cubitus is the first real square watch in the collection. Some might say that that honor belonged to Reference 5020, introduced in 1994, but that watch – now considered a classic – wasn’t really square, but rather more TV-shaped. Importantly, the new Cubitus, though generous in size, doesn’t really look that big on the wrist thanks to its shape and the use of contrasting case finishes that include satin brushing and polishing.

The launch collection encompasses three distinctive models. Reference 5822P-001 in a 45 x 9.6 mm platinum case is the most technically advanced of the trio as it includes large date, weekday, and moon phases. All three displays change instantaneously thanks to brand-new, automatic Caliber 240 PS CI J LU with six new patents pending. One might think a large date passé, but not when it is as clever as this co-planar example: the digit disks are located on the same plane so that both numerals appear in the two windows completely side by side.

In the lower half of the dial, the larger subdial contains both the day of the week (shown by a small hand) and the moon phase, while the smaller subdial contains the small seconds display. It is this combination that is the most controversial due to its off-centered, off-balance style. One either likes it or one doesn’t. One touch I particularly like is that the brand-typical diamond set into the platinum case at 6 o’clock is in this instance rather uniquely a baguette-cut specimen.

The two-tone Cubitus (Reference 5821/1AR-001) in stainless steel and rose gold has a remarkably slim profile of just 8.3 mm in height, making it a bit more elegant. But it’s the vintage-feel two-tone visuals that has had everyone talking. Definitely a ’90s throwback – or could it be heralding a comeback of this metal combination?

Finally, Reference 5812/1A-001 in stainless steel with an olive-green dial and bracelet rounds out the new collection. The latter two models are powered by Patek Philippe’s automatic Caliber 26-330 S C with stop-seconds for precision time-setting. Without anything more on the dial than the time and the date, they really visually express their relationship to the sporty Nautilus.

As a veteran watch journalist, I can safely say that probably no one saw this coming. And I can perhaps also safely say that Thierry Stern really enjoys that aspect of the launch – as he should.