What Thierry Stern has to say after the Cubitus launch
Russell SheldrakeThe launch of the Patek Philippe Cubitus collection has been the big story in watches recently. It’s been hard to escape it, from the initial leaks, to the lavish launch event, and now the voluminous online response. But immediately after the release of the brand’s first new collection in 25 years, Thierry Stern was clearly on the PR trail as he gave a number of interviews with a select few publications. But it was the one in the Zürich-based business magazine, Bilanz, which most caught our attention. And when we posted what is possibly the most controversial comment from that interview on our Instagram recently, it clearly sparked a note with all of you as well.
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So I wanted to highlight a few more quotes from that very same interview that I think shed more light on what Thierry Stern is currently thinking, and shows how he has approached this entire process.
“I don’t go to clients with designs”
In the previous answer to this one, Stern said that he had a lot of professionals around him that told him the Cubitus would work. In a follow up to that, Bilanz journalist Iris Kuhn-Spogat asked if those professionals were internal at Patek Philippe or external third parties, presumably clients. To that Stern had this to say: “Internally. I don’t go to clients with designs and ask them for their opinion. Never. I don’t work with external designers either. We’ve done that, but it never worked.”
While the fact that he doesn’t seek outside approval for designs can be seen as keeping his vision pure, and not allowing external influences to affect the output of his family run business, it’s possible that this time, they could have warned him about this reaction that has happened. But what I find more shocking in this quote is what he says next about having worked with external designers in the past and it never having worked. I guess he has forgotten about Gérald Genta designing the Nautilus for them. And some would say there is a lot of Genta in the new Cubitus as well.
“Brother of the Nautilus”
If you looked at those first images of the Cubitus and thought it had a startling resemblance to the Nautilus, you weren’t the only one. Kuhn-Spogat went straight in and said to Stern: “It looks just like a twin of the Nautilus.” And to this, Stern could only reply: “The Cubitus is a brother of the Nautilus and the Aquanaut, but it is not a square Nautilus; it has its own identity. You notice this the longer you see it, the longer you wear it.” While I am on the record saying that the design has its upsides, such as its thinness, I guess I need to keep looking at it a little longer to see the non-Nautilus elements.
“I really have endless ideas”
One of the criticisms I did level at the Cubitus on its initial release, was that I wanted to see Patek go in a different direction, one that felt more akin to what the brand does so well in dress watches, and even elegant complications. So when I hear Stern say: “I really have endless ideas. We recently had a meeting that resulted in 20 different models”, I am given some hope as to what they may come out with next. But it leaves me scratching my head as to why they came out with the Cubitus instead of the 19 other ideas that were left on the cutting room floor.
But I’m glad to hear that Stern doesn’t feel the pressure of trends and fashions in the industry, it would feel disingenuous to know that they are releasing something because they have seen other brands do something similar. So when he was pushed on the size issue of the watch, he had this to say: “I am not the trend. All I can say is that there will be other sizes.” I will be looking forward to seeing how the Cubitus shrinks down. Fingers crossed it’s not a diamond encrusted, pink, mother-of-pearl dial that comes in a 42mm.
“I wouldn’t call it a crisis”
There are all sorts of things in the watch industry that Stern could be referencing when he says that. But here he was actually asked by Kuhn-Spogat if he was worried about launching a brand new collection, and the first from the brand in 25 years, in the midst of a crisis in the industry, Stern certainly had an answer prepared. “I didn’t foresee what would happen in the market when we decided on Cubitus. But my father always said, ‘It’s good to have strong models to get out of a crisis.’ So I have to say that the moment is good, especially since I wouldn’t call it a crisis, at most a slowdown. So no, I’m not worried.”
It’s understandable that Patek hasn’t been feeling the squeeze of the recent woes the rest of the market has had, as it is relatively protected by its market position, retail strategy, and incredibly loyal and at times rabid fanbase. But when we are so used to the humdrum communications that most CEOs give out around new releases, having someone such as Stern come out and say such strong statements that feel unfiltered, and from an honest standpoint can be extremely refreshing. However, this has certainly opened Stern up to more criticism and examination moving forward, and it pulls the curtain back ever so slightly on the mysterious goings on at Patek Philippe.
What this interview does remind me of, is the often honest musings of the recently departed CEO of Audemars Piguet, François-Henry Bennahmias, or even the newly minted independent Jean-Claude Biver. Both would give colourful commentary to go along with their brands’ offerings and if this is going to be a sign of what we can expect from Stern, then I am all here for it.