{"id":131,"date":"2024-10-29T19:06:41","date_gmt":"2024-10-29T19:06:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stagingserver3.com\/Sibte\/?p=131"},"modified":"2024-10-29T19:06:41","modified_gmt":"2024-10-29T19:06:41","slug":"hip-to-be-a-square-the-patek-philippe-cubitus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stagingserver3.com\/Sibte\/hip-to-be-a-square-the-patek-philippe-cubitus\/","title":{"rendered":"Hip to Be a Square: The Patek Philippe Cubitus"},"content":{"rendered":"
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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.<\/span><\/p>\n

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 \u2013 meaning that the\u00a0Patek Philippe watch<\/a>\u00a0hardly has a chance to be seen in a non-judgmental light.<\/span><\/p>\n

As a professional watch journalist for more than 30 years, I have seen my fair share of watches that weren\u2019t 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.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sure, my job has changed somewhat in today\u2019s world, thanks to the internet. Opinions from trusted sources are valued, and so I provide my opinion now and then.<\/span><\/p>\n

The New Patek Philippe Cubitus: A Matter of Taste<\/span><\/h2>\n
\"new<\/span><\/figure>\n

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\u2019s called evolution. Without change, a brand will become stagnant. But somehow that\u2019s what people expect of Patek Philippe: that Thierry continue like his father and those who came before him. But, like any good leader, he\u2019s not doing that. He\u2019s got his own style and feel for his generation. And my opinion is that should be respected.<\/span><\/p>\n

Thierry Stern\u2019s \u201cnew\u201d style has gifted us among other things with the odd titanium Patek (like Reference 5270T for Only Watch), a very fresh young\u00a0Patek Philippe Calatrava<\/a>\u00a0style (Ref. 6007), the ingenious worldtimer Reference 5330G-001 with a strap that looks like it\u2019s made of denim (talk about style!), and a very limited edition repeating alarm watch with his father\u2019s 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.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"new<\/span><\/figure>\n

When I think back to the launch of the A. Lange & S\u00f6hne 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\u2019t have felt anything, though: it still has a waiting list that is years long. A. Lange & S\u00f6hne\u2019s first serial steel watch remains a solid success story despite the trolls. But it also didn\u2019t leak prematurely.<\/span><\/p>\n

All that to say: while the square Patek Philippe Cubitus may not be everyone\u2019s cup of tea, I don\u2019t 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\u2019s explore this new watch model.<\/span><\/p>\n

Patek Philippe Cubitus<\/span><\/h2>\n
\"Patek<\/span><\/figure>\n

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\u00a0Patek Philippe Nautilus<\/a>\u00a0playbook. 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\u2019t exactly round, either, if you look at them closely.<\/span><\/p>\n

And the rectangular\u00a0Patek Philippe Gondolo<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Patek Philippe Twenty-4<\/a>\u00a0models, 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 \u2013 now considered a classic \u2013 wasn\u2019t really square, but rather more TV-shaped. Importantly, the new Cubitus, though generous in size, doesn\u2019t really look that big on the wrist thanks to its shape and the use of contrasting case finishes that include satin brushing and polishing.<\/span><\/p>\n

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,\u00a0automatic Caliber 240 PS CI J LU<\/a>\u00a0with six new patents pending. One might think a large date pass\u00e9, 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.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u2019t. One touch I particularly like is that the brand-typical diamond set into the platinum case at 6 o\u2019clock is in this instance rather uniquely a baguette-cut specimen.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"New<\/span><\/figure>\n

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\u2019s the vintage-feel two-tone visuals that has had everyone talking. Definitely a \u201990s throwback \u2013 or could it be heralding a comeback of this metal combination?<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u2019s\u00a0automatic Caliber 26-330 S C<\/a>\u00a0with 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.<\/span><\/p>\n

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 \u2013 as he should.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n

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About Elizabeth Doerr<\/span><\/h2>\n

Elizabeth Doerr has dedicated most of her waking hours to mechanical watches since 1991. An eight-time Grand Prix d\u2019Horlogerie de Gen\u00e8ve juror, current GPHG Academy member, and part of the FHH Cultural Council, Elizabeth has regularly contributed to numerous high-quality publications all over the world. She is also the author of two books: 2010\u2019s 12 Faces of Time and 2015\u2019s Bridging Art and Mechanics: The Unabridged Story of Corum\u2019s Golden Bridge.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":128,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-131","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-editorial-daily-articles"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stagingserver3.com\/Sibte\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stagingserver3.com\/Sibte\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stagingserver3.com\/Sibte\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stagingserver3.com\/Sibte\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stagingserver3.com\/Sibte\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=131"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stagingserver3.com\/Sibte\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":132,"href":"https:\/\/stagingserver3.com\/Sibte\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131\/revisions\/132"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stagingserver3.com\/Sibte\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/128"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stagingserver3.com\/Sibte\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=131"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stagingserver3.com\/Sibte\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=131"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stagingserver3.com\/Sibte\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=131"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}