The new Patek Philippe Cubitus is finally here
Russell Sheldrake- The Cubitus collection, Patek’s first new watch collection in 25 years, has been officially released, with three models making up this initial launch.
- The collection launches with two time and date models in steel and two-tone as well as one instantaneous grand date with day and moonphase in platinum.
- They have been in production for a year already and will cost between US$41,250 and US$88,380.
It’s been teased, leaked, and hinted at for a long time now, but the Patek Philippe Cubitus collection is officially here and we can finally talk about it with a degree of certainty. A third sports watch in the Patek catalogue, this new line offers something slightly different from the ever-present Nautilus or Aquanaut, but with a few very familiar traits that help anchor it in the brand’s canon.
The story of the Cubitus so far
There have been whispers around various corners of the internet for a while now, with this name Cubitus appearing deep in forums, and pictures of loose dials showing up on rogue Instagram pages, but nothing seemed to be confirmed, and nothing was coming directly from Patek itself. The first real hint at this watch becoming reality was the trademark filed by Patek Philippe in 2021 for the name “Cubitus”, which is a medical name for elbow, derived from the Latin cubitum.
After this trademark was filed, a picture of a loose green, grooved, square dial, with a date window at 3 started to crop up on various forum sites and Reddit, along with the date of October 17th. Once this dial and the trademark were connected, it was clear that this new line from Patek was going to be something very unexpected. After all, it has been 25 years since Patek last launched a new line with the Twenty-4.
Then came the advert that appeared in a copy of Fortune late last week that broke the internet, showing us what looked to be this square, sports watch with a big date window, a day sub-dial with a Moon phase indicator inside, and a small seconds off-set. All of this had been placed on the grooved dial we have come to know and love from the Nautilus, and packaged in a completely new case shape for the old Genevan brand.
Then during the launch event that just took place in Munich, Thierry Stern told the gathered crowd about how this watch took four years to develop, with some saying that the watch has already been in production for a year and so could be available to buy very soon. Indeed, the watch will allegedly be available from retailers starting tomorrow.
The Cubitus collection
So what is this new collection? This initial release is made up of three references: the 5812/1A-001 which is a time-and-date, stainless steel watch with a green dial; the 5812/1AR-001 is the same as the previous, but in stainless steel and rose gold with a blue dial; and the 5822P-001, which is a platinum instantaneous grand date, day, and moonphase piece with a blue dial. They all measure 45mm diagonally across their square cases, with the time and date models measuring 8.3mm thick, and the complicated model measuring 9.6mm. This shows Patek really paid attention to how this watch would wear, and keeping it thin must have been a priority. The case is square, but with the corners cut to give it eight sides, technically making it an octagon – which was Genta’s favourite shape.
The case is finished exactly as you would expect a Patek sports watch to be finished, with a mix of brushed and polished surfaces balancing each other out – even on the ears of the case that have been brought over from the Nautilus. This goes along with the bracelet, dial and movement, which have all been adapted from the Nautilus line and brought over to the Cubitus.
The movement for the ref. 5822P is interesting, as it is a first for Patek in the combination of its complications, and supposedly took six years to develop with a number of patents filed for it. The calibre 240 PS CI J LU has the brand’s cal. 240 at its base, meaning it has an incredible linage to it, although you are only going to get between 38 and 48 hours of power reserve. It has all of its calendar features integrated, and bears close resemblance to the Nautilus 5712, but omits the power reserve indicator. It’s the instantaneous jump that required so many patents, including a tangential brake that ensures only the 10s disc of the big date jumps from 31 to 01, given there’s enough torque provided by the movement to make them both change. But if the trade-off here is between a bigger power reserve or a thinner watch, I’m going to take the thinner watch every time.
Inside the time and date models is the cal. 26-330 S C, which is pretty thin for a full rotor automatic movement at 3.3mm, but again the same trade-off happens here, with an estimated 35-45 hours of power reserve. Unlike the 240 PS CI J LU, this is the very same movement you’ll find in the current Nautilus and Calatrava models. Both of these movements can be seen through the sapphire casebacks, allowing you to see the Patek Philippe Seal-level of finishing.
Closing thoughts
While these three watches appear to be just the start of the Cubitus collection, they seem to show that this new sports line is highly connected to the Nautilus and feels like it could be considered an off-shoot instead of a standalone collection. It has been estimated by some online that with the addition of this new line, Patek will be producing roughly 28,800 sports watches a year, spread across the Cubitus, Nautilus, and Aquanaut. With so much talk already surrounding this watch, it is clear that it will be dividing opinions for a long time, but those who have had the chance to see it in the metal seem to be impressed, but the real test will come once the markets have calmed down from the initial rush and we find out how it performs alongside its hard-to-get siblings.
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Personally, I don’t hate this watch. I think the execution is good (as expected), and the diversity in the range has started well. However, I do think it is slightly unnecessary. If Patek was to go into more shaped watches, I would have liked to see another shaped dress watch, which was apparently a consideration for the Cubitus. The Ellipse is perfect in my book, but the Gondolo line has never connected with me, and I feel like more could be done in this space, with plenty of historical backing from the brand’s archives to support simple and complex, shaped dress watches. As a commentator rather than an active participant in this market, however, it is always fun to watch these controversial and highly discussed watches get released just to see how the community reacts.
Patek Philippe Cubitus collection pricing and availability
The first three models of the Patek Philippe Cubitus collection (ref. 5812/1A-001, ref. 5812/1AR-001 and ref. 5822P-001) are available now from Patek Philippe retailers. Price: US$41,250 (5812/1A-001), US$61,280 (5812/1AR-001), US$88,380 (5822P-001)
| Brand | Patek Philippe |
| Model | Cubitus |
| Case Dimensions | 45mm (D) x 8.3mm (T) x 44.9mm (LTL) (5812/1A, 5812/1AR) 45mm (D) x 9.6mm (T) x 44.9mm (LTL) (5822P) |
| Case Material | Stainless steel (5812/1A) Stainless steel and rose gold (5812/1AR) Platinum (5822P) |
| Water Resistance | 30 metres |
| Crystal(s) | Sapphire |
| Dial | Green (5812/1A) Blue (5812/1AR, 5822P) |
| Strap | Case-matching bracelet, folding clasp with micro-adjust (5812/1A, 5812/1AR) Composite fabric, folding clasp (5822P) |
| Movement | 26-330 S C, in-house, automatic (5812/1A, 5812/1AR) 240 PS CI J LU, in-house, micro-rotor automatic (5822P) |
| Power Reserve | 35-45 hours (5812/1A, 5812/1AR) 38-48 hours (5822P) |
| Functions | Hours, minutes, seconds, date (5812/1A, 5812/1AR) Hours, minutes, seconds, instant grand date, day, and moonphase (5822P) |
| Availability | Available now |
| Price | US$41,250 (5812/1A-001) US$61,280 (5812/1AR-001) US$88,380 (5822P-001) |