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Patek Philippe’s release of the Cubitus model polarised the horological world in a way not seen since the launch of the Audemars Piguet Code 11.59 collection back in 2019. Pundits have since criticised the first new collection from Patek in 25 years for everything from being too big with its 45mm case size, to lacking in originality with its similarities to the established Nautilus model.
Six months in, the watchmaker doubled down on the design by introducing a smaller version of the Cubitus at 40mm to go alongside the pair of three-hand watches — the all-steel Reference 5821/1A and the steel and rose gold 5821/1AR, as well as the considerably more complicated Reference 5822P, a platinum-cased watch with a large date, day indicator and moon phase display.
Patek Philippe developed an entirely new in-house movement based on its thinnest-ever calibre, devising an instant date mechanism in which the numerals jump simultaneously in a timeframe of just 18 milliseconds.
The creation of the movement enabled Patek to apply for no fewer than six patents for features such as the “tangential brake” that locks one of the date wheels when the last day of one month changes to the first day of the next, and a “flexible day corrector” which makes it possible to correct the day of the week at any time of the day without risking damage to the mechanism.
The three-hand watches, meanwhile, use the self-winding calibre 26-330 SC which is also found in certain of the brand’s Nautilus, Aquanaut and Calatrava models.
Shown here in deconstructed form, the mechanism measures just 27mm in diameter and 3.3mm in height yet contains 212 components, including 30 jewel bearings and a 21-carat gold rotor decorated with a horizontal pattern to match that of the dial.
The Cubitus drew inspiration from the celebrated Nautilus sportswatch created by Gerald Genta in 1976 and which, in recent years, came to be so successful that Patek Philippe president Thierry Stern made the decision to axe the classic Reference 5711 three-hand version for fear that it might overshadow the brand’s other models.
Patek-o-Philes are, however, hoping for one last hurrah next year to mark the model’s 50th anniversary — by which time, no doubt, the controversial Cubitus will be well on the way to achieving modern classic status.
