The new Cubitus :you love it or you hate it !
Some love it and are desperate to buy one, others hate it and make fun of its square shape. One thing's for sure: Patek Philippe's new Cubitus leaves no one indifferent.
In Munich today, Patek Philippe revealed its new Cubitus collection, a watch with an unprecedented shape that combines boldness and elegance.
“I’ve been dreaming of a square watch in our collections for a long time,” says Thierry Stern, President of Patek Philippe. Placing it in our sport/chic range, like the Nautilus and Aquanaut, was an obvious choice. It’s done with Cubitus, and I’m particularly proud of this creation, which opens a new chapter in the history of our Manufacture.”
The new Cubitus timepiece features innovative displays, including a large date, day indication and instantaneous moon phase. True to its heritage of precision and legibility, the Swiss brand has developed an exclusive movement: the caliber 240 PS CI J LU, based on the famous extra-flat self-winding caliber 240.
“It was unthinkable for me not to equip this new Patek Philippe collection with a new complication caliber worthy of the name. And given the watch’s imposing 45 mm diameter, it had to be extremely slender.” Continues the President.
After seeing it, commenting on it and explaining it… it’s true that the size of the Cubitus was a little frightening, at a time when 38 or 39 mm watches are all the rage. But once the instrument is on the wrist, the magic happens, and the thickness is perfect: 9.6 mm. It’s so comfortable to wear that you forget its generous dimensions. And the platinum version with complications remains light, with its textile-patterned composite strap. A platinum bracelet would have made the watch heavier, while adding to its already substantial price: €87,700.
But what a caliber! The development of the movement, for which six patents have been filed, is a marvel of energy management, with simultaneous jumps of the displays in just 18 milliseconds. Just the sequence of jumps in such a short time required hours of research and testing. Add to this the perfect alignment of the large date on all planes and the ability to correct all indications at any time, and you have a marvel of haute horlogerie.
A transparent sapphire crystal caseback reveals the finishing of the movement, which is driven by an off-center 22-carat gold mini-rotor featuring the same horizontal motif as the dial. The caliber is obviously stamped with “PP”, the Patek Philippe coat-of-arms, a guarantee of the Cubitus’s extreme quality.
As with all platinum models, Patek Philippe has discreetly placed a baguette-cut diamond on the bezel at 6 o’clock.
The dial of the Cubitus is no exception, displaying the large date at 12 o’clock in a double beveled aperture, while the day and moon-phase indications appear at 7 o’clock, next to the small seconds. The blue “sunburst” dial with stamped horizontal relief highlights white gold hour-markers and hands, underlined by a luminescent coating. Reminiscent of the Nautilus dials, the family spirit is clearly evident.
Assertive in name (Cubitus for Cube and Nautilus) and color, since an olive-green steel version is now available. A best-seller for sure, despite a high price tag of €40,900.
More original and less conventional – if a square Patek Philippe can be said to be conventional! – will the pink gold and steel version of the Cubitus find its audience? Time will tell, but material combinations seem to be very popular at the moment.
A final detail for fans of musketeer-cuffed shirts: each watch can be coordinated with a pair of specially-edited gold cufflinks. 6 700 €.
Consulter les fiches techniques :
Cubitus 5822P-001 – 87 700 euros
Cubitus 5821/1AR-001 – 60 800 euros
Cubitus 5821/1A-001 – 40 900 euros