In October 2024, Patek Philippe announced a brand new collection christened the Cubitus. This, of course, was massive news as it’s been about a quarter of a century since the last collection was launched (the Twenty-4). Just last month, we covered the details and shared our thoughts on the Cubitus in general and specifically the Ref. 5821/1A. We noted that the Ref. 5821/1A is likely to be the most sought after piece of the three Cubitus debutants due to its stainless steel make and more accessible pricing (from the relative lack of complications and precious metal). The flipside of this is that there isn’t as much to be excited about that hasn’t already been seen in the Nautilus.
Patek Philippe Cubitus Ref. 5822P-001
Enter the Cubitus Ref. 5822P-001, the most complicated (and expensive) of the newcomers. While it won’t be as popular as the stainless steel, time-date model, it is undoubtedly the more interesting piece on offer from a design and mechanics standpoint. Here, we’ll go through why, in addition to the nitty-gritty details of the crowning glory of the 2024 Cubitus collection.
The Case, Dial, and Hands
As implied in its reference number, the case of the Cubitus Ref. 5822P-001 is crafted in platinum. This is one of the piece’s main distinguishing factors relative to its fellow debutants which are made in stainless steel or two-tone (stainless steel/rose gold combination). Like all other platinum Patek Philippe watches, you will find a diamond embedded at the underside of the case. But what’s different here in the Ref. 5822P-001 is that – for the first time – it is a baguette diamond, and not the usual round-cut fare, that you’ll find shimmering at the bottom flank of the case. This is a nod to the novel shape of the Cubitus which can be described as a square or an octagon depending on who you ask. Really though, it’s a square with its vertices snipped. Like its time-date siblings, it measures 45 mm diagonally, which is absolutely fine for a sporty timepiece. But due to the extra complications that it is packing under the hood, the Ref. 5822P-001 is thicker, at 9.6 mm (vs 8.3 mm for the base model). For further reference, the Nautilus Ref. 5712 – the watch that the more mechanically sophisticated Ref. 5822P-001 gets compared to the most – is 8.52 mm thick. All things considered, Patek Philippe have done a good job keeping the height reasonable and the watch elegant. For any contemporary watch – dress, casual, or sport – a height of 9.6 mm remains on the border of ‘conservative’.
The watch is paired with a navy blue composite strap with fabric pattern and a contrasting stitch. While the strap in itself isn’t anything too special, it fulfils multiple purposes. For one, it helps the Ref. 5822P-001 look less like a Nautilus, which has been the main grievance among enthusiasts and collectors. For another, it keeps the price manageable. A full platinum Cubitus – while awesome as a flex – will be even more prohibitively expensive and, not to mention, heavy.
If you think the dial looks familiar, that’s because it does. The Ref. 5822P-001 is strongly reminiscent of the Nautilus Ref. 5712 with its asymmetric dial. There are, of course, notable differences between the two watches, the most obvious one being the big date display on the Ref. 5822P-001. Big dates might not be novel in the grand scale of the watchmaking, but it is in the very traditional world of Patek Philippe. These are two numeral discs, set at the same level, that jump instantaneously, which is pretty much the pinnacle of big date displays. The other important distinction is the presence of the day display on the Cubitus, which is not a thing on the Ref. 5712. The day of the week is displayed radially on the bottom left sub-dial where the date is instead on the Nautilus. Everything else is Nautilus-esque, from the embossed dial to the hands and hour markers.
The Movement
Driving the new Cubitus Ref. 5822P-001 is the 353-part Calibre 240 PS CI J LU. The automatic movement has a power reserve of 38-48 hours and operates at a stately 3 Hz frequency. Apart from telling the time in hours, minutes and seconds, it also indicates the date, day and the phases of the moon. But what makes the Calibre 240 PS CI J LU truly interesting is the tech within, which involved the filing of no fewer than six patents, all to do with the new big date mechanism.
The first is for the tangential brake that prevent a double jump of the tens disk. At the end of each month while the date changes from 31 to 01, the unit must remain stationary. Energy from the mainspring, instead of being distributed between the two wheel trains for the tens and units respectively, is transmitted entirely to the tens train. The tangential brake absorbs surplus energy directed towards the tens disc, ensuring that it jumps no more than once.
The second patent is for the dual-lever correction system, which is a security system designed for manual correction of the date, specifically from 09 to 10, 19 to 20, 29 to 30, and 31 to 01, where the energy for the instant jump is not needed. The system ensures the jump of the tens at any time regardless of the force exerted on the corrector push-piece.
The third patent is for the flexible day corrector that makes it possible to correct the day of the week at any time of the day.
The fourth is for what’s called a cam winding wheel with dual-function spring. Designed for a cam driven by the 24-hour wheel, it makes it possible to overcome greater torque while ensuring precision of the date jump at midnight. It also enables the user to adjust the time at any moment, backwards or forwards, without any risk of movement damage.
The fifth and sixth patents are for a mechanism comprising an eccentric and a flexible plate that makes it possible to adjust the position of the two date discs at the time of casing-up, once the dial has been fitted. In this way, the ten and unit are perfectly centered in their apertures. The system makes it possible to keep these positions tensioned and therefore permanently conserved.
In terms of appearance, the movement looks like any Calibre 240 variation through the sapphire crystal case back. It does, however, feature a micro-rotor that’s decorated with ribbing instead of the usual Geneva waves. All in all, the finishing is attractive (as expected from a Patek Philippe Seal movement) but fairly pedestrian at the same time for a high end luxury timepiece. The usual stuff like Geneva waves, perlage, beveled edges and polished screw heads can be seen through the crystal.
The Competitive Landscape
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, there is plenty of competition in the sports watch section of the luxury watch market. The million dollar question is: how will the Cubitus fare? The Cubitus collection has received its fair share of criticism, mainly for its lack of originality. The Ref. 5822P-001, for example, is a spitting image of the Nautilus Ref. 5712. But, in a vacuum, there is much to love about the watch. As derivative as the watch may be, it still has an immensely pleasant looking shape, with unique details like the baguette-cut diamond, and a sophisticated big date mechanism that led to six patents. There’s also the composite strap with fabric pattern, which you don’t see much, if at all, from Patek Philippe. Let’s not forget the build quality that the brand is also known for; from the case to the dial and movement, virtually everything significant is made in-house and to exacting standards. Importantly, the Cubitus is a Patek Philippe – like it or not, that name carries weight among collectors and connoisseurs. The good news is that the Ref. 5822P-001, along with the rest of the collection so far, is part of the permanent collection and not a limited edition piece. The bad news? It’s a hefty CHF75,000 for a day-date-plus-moon-phase watch. And you’re not going to be able to just pick one up in the short term unless you’re one of the boutique’s favourite customers or David Beckham.
Perhaps the closest alternative to the Ref. 5822P-001 that isn’t a Nautilus is the A. Lange & Söhne Odysseus. Like the Ref. 5822P-001, it has the day and big date as its core complications. Two pushers on the flank allow for independent and easy adjustment of the two complications. The Odysseus polarised opinions when it first debuted but has since been accepted by the luxury watch community at large. This particular reference below is the titanium variation, which also happens to be the brand’s first titanium watch. While the Cubitus case is superior in its craftsmanship, the Odysseus’ movement, the Calibre L115.1, is ahead in aesthetics and finissage, as is frequently the case with Lange movements. Priced at EUR55,000 in 2022, the Odysseus in titanium is expensive even by high-end watchmaking standards. This perhaps has to do with the 250-piece production limit, or the novelty of it being the brand’s first titanium watch, or the fact that it is the most intricately finished titanium watch available, but the premium still makes one flinch. Nevertheless, this is an exceptional luxury sports watch and is a worthy alternative to the Cubitus.
Vacheron Constantin are a longstanding competitor of Patek Philippe. While the latter has the more sought after sports watches, Vacheron Constantin’s Overseas watches are not far behind. Its barrel shape and Maltese cross-inspired bezel are signature design elements that are not soon forgotten. The model that most closely approximates the Cubitus Ref. 5822P-001 is the gorgeous Overseas Moon Phase Retrograde Date. As implied by its name, the watch features a moon phase display that is admittedly more evocative than the one in the Cubitus. The Overseas does not have a day function, nor does it utilise jumping numerals to tell the date. It does however have a jumping retrograde hand to indicate the date, which is pretty interesting in itself. The Overseas Moon Phase Retrograde Date in stainless steel – which comes with a bracelet, rubber strap and leather strap – is a regular production model and is priced at CHF43,800.
Concluding Thoughts
The Cubitus Ref. 5822P-001 is by far the most exciting of the three pieces leading Patek Philippe’s newest collection. While it does painfully resemble the Nautilus Ref. 5712, taken alone, the Ref. 5822P-001 is a very likeable timepiece. The hope is that the brand takes in the criticism and suggestions from the floor and tries to switch things up for their next Cubitus release. If the Audemars Piguet Code 11.59 can soften the hearts of naysayers (given time), so can the Cubitus.
