Is Cubitus the new Nautilus?
Since 2021, when Patek Philippe discontinued its best-selling Ref. 5711 and began phasing out certain Nautilus references, fans of the Swiss brand have been wondering whether another sports model would come down the Patek pipeline.
Their wait ended Oct. 17, when Patek Philippe unveiled Cubitus, a sporty wristwatch line and the brand’s first entirely new collection in 25 years. (The Aquanaut dates from 1997 and the Twenty-4, a women’s line, from 1999.)
The angular Cubitus is now the new face of Patek Philippe’s sports watches, marking the end of an era in which the distinctive porthole shape of the Nautilus, introduced in 1976 by the renowned designer Gerald Genta, defined the brand’s luxury sport watches. It joins Patek’s sporty lineup, including 28 Nautilus and 20 Aquanaut models.
“I always wanted a square watch in the collections,” Thierry Stern, the company’s president, said before a group of journalists at the unveiling of the watch, held in Munich at the headquarters of Deutsche Patek Philippe, the company’s German affiliate. “But there was always something off about them. They were too thick, or they sat uncomfortably on the wrist.”
While Cubitus has a 45-millimeter case (measured diagonally across what is actually an octagon), its time and date version is just 8.3 millimeters (0.3 inches) thick while the model with complications comes in at 9.6 millimeters.
“There were many ways we could have designed the new watch, but in the end, I wanted a design that aligned with the DNA of the Nautilus and Aquanaut,” Mr. Stern said, adding that Cubitus was six years in production, with four of those years focused on its design.
Three versions were introduced in Munich, including the Ref. 5821/1A in steel, with an olive-green sunburst dial and a date display (35,000 Swiss francs, or $41,240 in the United States); and the Ref. 5821/1AR in steel and rose gold with a date display and a blue sunburst dial (52,000 francs, or $61,280), both of which are on an integrated metal bracelet.
The platinum version, Ref. 5822P, has a blue sunburst dial with a baguette-cut diamond in the bezel at 6 o’clock and comes on a composite material strap in navy (75,000 francs, or $88,380). It has three complications: a grand date display, with larger than usual numbers, on two discs; and a day display and a moon phase indicator. All three are labeled instantaneous, as they all change within 18 milliseconds when the date changes.
Mr. Stern said more Cubitus models, including some with smaller cases and some designed for women, would come along in the future.
Cubitus is, in many ways, a “cubified” reinterpretation of the Nautilus, with elements such as the ear-shape crown guards, embossed dial and integrated metal bracelet. But Mr. Stern acknowledged that its overall shape was what he repeatedly called a “risky” proposition.
“I know that 85 percent of watches sold in the world have round cases,” he said. “But as president of Patek, with no shareholders to answer to, I can take a risk with this shape.” Founded in 1839, Patek Philippe has been owned by the Stern family since 1932; Mr. Stern took control in 2009.
Of the three versions, only the platinum Cubitus features a new movement: a version of Patek’s Caliber 240 with an additional 104 components, for a total of 353. Six patent applications are pending for its functions, Mr. Stern said, including the mechanism that allows an instantaneous date change. The other two models have Patek’s self-winding Caliber 26-330 S C, with a new function that stops the seconds hand when setting the watch.
As for the name, Mr. Stern said Cubitus was an obvious choice because it indicated the shape, but also because the word “worked well in every language,” making it suitable for global marketing and sales.
The new release comes at a time when growth in the Swiss watch industry has been in slow but steady decline. Exports for the first nine months of 2024 were down 12.4 percent, year over year, according to the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry.
The declines, of course, do not apply equally to every brand, said Oliver Müller, the founder of the Swiss watch consultancy LuxeConsult, said in a phone interview from Geneva.
“What is concerning however is that we are now seeing a 13.2 percent decline this year in exports of watches priced between 20,000 to 40,000 francs, until now a strong segment,” he said, citing figures reported by Swiss customs authorities that are not made public. “That is the price range of Patek’s Nautilus and Aquanaut, Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak, and Rolex’s gold and gem-set Submariner.”
Still, Mr. Müller said, the debut has sent a signal of confidence, in its timing and that Cubitus’s prices are higher than Patek’s other sporty models.
“They discontinued the Nautilus at 28,000 francs to introduce a new line that starts at 35,000 francs,” Mr. Müller said. “That is a substantial increase, but it says that Patek feels it can move up the price ladder, even in a declining market.
“At this price level, Patek can keep its annual production at 72,000 pieces and still ensure growth and higher margins,” he said.
During the presentation, Mr. Stern did address one of the brand’s longstanding challenges: Its limited production regularly seems to vanish almost instantly into the hands of existing customers, often leaving new buyers frustrated and feeling sidelined.
“Our retailers have their allocated stock, even if it isn’t very many pieces,” Mr. Stern said. “In theory, we have asked them to aim for younger clients, but in practice, I suspect many pieces will go to our V.I.P. clients this first year.”
Because of its polarizing design, public reception of the Cubitus has been lukewarm on social media.
“With this watch, you have to try it on to become a believer,” Mr. Stern said.
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