Patek Philippe Launches The Cubitus, First New Model Since 1997; Nomos Adds Touch Of Gold To Orion and Tangente; Frederique Constant's Green Worldtimer; Fears And Garrick Team Up Again; New Urwerk

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In this issue:

• Patek Philippe Launches The Cubitus, Their First New Model Line Since 1997

• Nomos Introduces Just A Touch Of Gold To Their Orion Neomatik and Tangente Neomatik

• Frederique Constant Adds A Forrest Green Version Of The Classic Worldtimer Manufacture

• Collective Horology Brings Fears And Garrick Together For The Second Time With A Frosted Salmon Dial

• Urwerk Gives A Brand New And Pretty Wild Satellite Display To The New UR-150 'Scorpion'

Today’s reading time: 9 minutes

👂What’s new

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Patek Philippe Launches The Cubitus, Their First New Model Line Since 1997

We heard rumors for years, saw the unfortunately released ad in Fortune magazine so we all knew that this was coming. By now you already know that late last evening in Munich, Patek Philippe introduced the Cubitus collection, what should be an important launch for both Patek and the entire industry. Patek is not a brand that launches watches often. In fact, the last line they launched is the not-so-pupular Twenty~4 in 1999. Before that we got the Aquanaut in 1997 and the Gondolo in 1993. So, rightfully, all eyes were on Patek Philippe for this one and suffice it to say, the community is not blown away. Reactions range from hyperbolised disgust, through questions why so similar to already existing watches, all the way to a few people saying they like it. Truth be told, I’m in the indifferent camp, a bit confused why it exists, puzzled by how horribly it fits on some wrists and pleased with how it looks on others. This will be a tough one.

The initial measurement given by Patek at the introduction is that it measures 45mm across, which is a bizarrely large measurement. And the first video I saw made it look ludicrous. But it’s actually not that bad. The watch actually measures 44.5mm wide, including the crown, and it has a very wearable 44.9mm lug-to-lug, which is a more important measurement when it comes to actually fitting on wrists. There are two thicknesses to the watch — 8.3mm for the time and date models and 9.6mm for the complicated one — both of which are pretty great.

There are three variants of the watch at launch: 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. All three have satin finishing with polished bevels. It’s kind of a weird shape, as if a Nautilus had a baby with the Cartier Santos — a square case with angled corners so that it makes up an octagon. Despite the sporty nature, screw down crown, and sapphire crystals on both sides, water resistance is just 30 meters.

All three dials have an embossed horizontal line pattern, with a sunburst finish and familiar Patek colors, blue and green. The hardware on the 5812/1A and the 5822P is all white gold, including the baton hour markers and hands. The 5812/1AR gets rose gold hardware. All the important parts feature plenty of lume, and the date discs — whether the small ones at 3 o’clock on the 5812/1A and the 5812/1AR, or the big date at 12 o’clock on the 5822P — have a white background. Make of that what you will.

The movements in the time-only watches are the cal. 26-330 S C, a thin automatic version that exchanges thinness for a humble power reserve — estimates put it at 35-45 hours. That’s fine when found in a Nautilus and a Calatrava, as you can argue that these are old models with old-fashioned power reserves. But a new watch would have benefited from a more modern power reserve. Inside the 5822P you get a calibre 240 PS CI J LU, which is based on the cal. 240. Similar to the Nautilus 5712, it has hours, minutes, small seconds, a moon phase and a tangential brake that ensures an instantaneous change of the day of the week and big date. The 5812/1A and the 5812/1AR come on metal-matching stainless steel bracelets, while the 5822P comes on a navy-blue strap with cream contrasting stitching, made from composite material embossed with a fabric motif.

So, that’s the new Cubitus collection. I assume you’ve already made up your mind on it. I’m sure that it will be spectacularly built, but again — why? Patek supposedly spent 10 years of research and development on the watch, the watch has been in production for over a year to be ready for launch, but I find it improbable that the truly best result of 10 years of R&D would be a slightly taller and slightly more angular Nautilus. Some have tried arguing that this is a sportier version of the Nautilus. OK, sure, but isn’t the Aquanaut already that? Others claim that this is an entry level Patek sports watch. It would make sense if this wasn’t 10k more expensive than the cheapest Nautilus. This all leaves me a bit confused, but let’s see how things develop for the collection. It’s Patek Philippe, after all. I don’t doubt it will sell, and sell well. Prices are as follows: the stainless steel 5812/1A retails fro €40,575, the two-tone 5812/1AR goes for €60,257 and the top of the line 5822P sells for €86,908. See more on the Patek website.

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Nomos Introduces Just A Touch Of Gold To Their Orion Neomatik and Tangente Neomatik

Unless you’re an avid fan of Nomos Glashütte, you won’t exactly notice what’s new with these watches. I mean, you will, because I told you in the title, but the change is so subtle, you’ll miss it if you blink. But that’s the whole point with this new release of the Orion Neomatik and the Tangente Neomatik Doré Editions. To keep things super discreet but also supremely elegant. The approach to the new models is the same — give their super elegant watches a silver-plated dial and small touches of gold to earn the name doré, which means golden in French.

Starting with the Orion Neomatik doré, it’s based on the mid-size Orion. Which means you get a fully polished stainless steel case that measures 36.4mm wide and 8.5mm thick. You still get the characteristic straight and slightly curved lugs and super thin bezel around the sapphire crystal. The dial is the classic galvanized, white silver-plated base, but now topped with applied diamond polished gold markers and thin gold baton hands.

Then there’s the Tangente, also in its mid-size Bauhaus-inspired fully round case with angular lugs. It measures 35mm wide and 6.9mm thick and has an even thinner bezel. The silver plated dial retains the black Arabic numerals, but gets gold hands on the central axis as well as the small seconds hand.

Inside both watches is the same movement, the in-house automatic calibre DUW 3001. it beats at 3Hz and has a 43 hour power reserve. Both watches come on 18mm wide brown cordovan leather straps.

The new Orion Neomatik Doré and Tangente Neomatik Doré are available now, priced at €2,940 for the Tangente and €3,040 for the Orion. See more on the Nomos website.

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Frederique Constant Adds A Forrest Green Version Of The Classic Worldtimer Manufacture

One after the other, Frederique Constant continues to put out stunning looking watches that offer a luxury experience and true in-house movements at a fraction of a price you would pay at so many other watch brands. Just look at their new releases, two versions of the Classic Worldtimer Manufacture done not just in two metals, but also with a new green dial. Come on!

The new watch comes in the same case as the regular Classic Worldtimer Manufacture, available in stainless steel or 18K rose gold. It mesures 42mm wide and has beautifully curved lugs. On top is a rounded smooth bezel, surrounding a sapphire crystal. On the right is an onion-shaped crown that has deep grooves in it. It’s not a sport watch (unlike the Patek above), but it still gets 50 meters of water resistance.

Brand new is an incredibly cool dial. You’ve seen it before but it’s now rendered in green. Green are the oceans on the depiction of the planet in the centre, green is the pointed date sub-dial at 6 o’clock which also has a radial fluted guilloche pattern, and green is half of the 24-hour ring that indicates night. All the green has a sunburst finishing, while the outer city ring is done in white with green lettering.

Frederique Constant is famous for being a relatively small manufacturer that makes their own in-house movements. No difference here. Inside is the FC-718 automatic world time movement. It has a nifty feature that allows you to set both the city ring and the date at the same crown position by rotating in opposite directions. The movement beats at 4Hz and has a 38 hour power reserve, which could be better. The watch comes on a deep forest green alligator leather strap, equipped with a case-matching deployant clasp.

Unfortunately, this will be a limited edition. 718 pieces of the stainless steel version will be made, while the gold comes in only 36. The price is pretty great here — the steel version is priced at €4,395, while the gold is priced at €18,995. See more on the Frederique Constant website.

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Collective Horology Brings Fears And Garrick Together For The Second Time With A Frosted Salmon Dial

It’s been two years since British watchmakers Fears and Garrick last worked together on a watch that impressed people both on the outside and inside. Now, US-based independent watch retailer Collective Horology has brought the two brands together again for the Fears Garrick Salmon, one of the best collaborations of the year.

The Salmon shares the case of the original Fears Garrick, a stainless steel polished case that measures 42mm wide and 10mm thick. The case is made by Garrick and it’s beautiful with elegantly tapering lugs. On top and bottom you’ll find sapphire crystals and you’ll also find yourself looking through the back a lot. Water resistance is a comfortable 100 meters.

Shared with the old model are the railway minute track, featuring a tiny Fears hand-tip logo at each five-minute interval, the skeletonized Fears hands, the diamond-polished numerals, running seconds sub-dial at 10 o’clock, and a power reserve gauge at 10 o’clock. What’s new is the beautiful salmon dial that has a frosted finish to it. But most striking about the dial is the large balance bridge with the free-sprung balance wheel and hairspring behind it.

Powering the watch is the hand-wound UTG04 by Garrick that has a 45 hour power reserve. It’s a beautiful thing with a hand-frosted, rhodium-plated finish, and polished bevels. The watch comes on a spectacular moss-green leather strap made by the Strap Tailor.

Now, for some bad news. Only five will be made. But at a price of $25,500, it won’t sell that fast so you still have time to sell any children or organs you might have left over. See more on the Collective Horology website.

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Urwerk Gives A Brand New And Pretty Wild Satellite Display To The New UR-150 'Scorpion'

For years now, Urwerk has been perfecting the wandering satellite-hour complication and I love them for it. The weird movement allowed them to experiment in case shapes, playing with colors and sci-fi influences. Their latest release, the UR-150 Scorpion is a more subdued continuation of the UR-100 series, one that is much more conservative, at least when Urwerk is concerned.

The case of the UR-150 Scorpion is slightly larger than the UR-100, but it’s also much more curved, less aggressive and more ergonomic on wrist, despite the huge domed sapphire crystal. It measures 42.49mm wide, 52.31mm long, and 14.79mm thick. You can get it in two variants, the Titan which has a a sandblasted and shot-blasted titanium and steel case, while the Dark version features the same finishes on titanium but comes with an anthracite PVD-treated steel part.

On the dial side, the thing you’ll first noticed is the huge openworked hand with its brightly painted tip, green for the Titan, red for the Dark. The dial features a minute track that doesn’t go all the way around, instead it travels just 240 degrees. All the time is show with that one hand. In the tip of the hand you’ll find the current time framde from the three domed discs that follow the hand around the dial. The tip of the hand points to the minutes on the mnute track. When it reaches the green-painted 60, a retrograde mechanism, powered by a specially developed and in-house machined spring, is activated. In 1/100th of a second, the hand jumps back 240 degrees to 0, while the satellites rotate 270 degrees to reveal the next hour. This is so cool.

It’s powered by the UR-50.01 movement, an automatic that features a double turbine mechanism to regulate the speed of the skeletonized rotor and absorb shocks. Based on a Vaucher movement, it beats at 4Hz and has a 43 hour power reserve. The watch comes on a black Kiska rubber strap.

The new Urwerk UR-150 Scorpion is limited to 50 pieces. A cool movement like this doesn’t come cheap. The Titan version costs CHF 88,000, and the Dark version is priced at CHF 89,000, both before tax. See more on the Urwerk website.

⚙️Watch Worthy

A look at an off beat, less known watch you might actually like

The Wren Diver One Snow is sub-$1k, with a sandwich dial, Sellita movement, and both a strap and bracelet

The 200-metre water-resistant Diver One Snow retains its predecessor’s dimensions of 41mm in diameter, 13.3mm in height including the boxed crystal, and relatively compact 47mm lug-to-lug measurement. Where the watch has changed, however, is that the timing scale beneath the sapphire bezel is now fully luminous rather than just the triangular pip. The sandwich dial, now outfitted with a crisp white luminous disc beneath the blue-white gradient, feels much brighter and, well… Wintery? It certainly feels that way in comparison to the prior models that had its handset and luminous disc coloured with fauxtina.

Read the whole review on Time + Tide

⏲️Wait a minute

A bunch of links that might or might not have something to do with watches. One thing’s for sure - they’re interesting

• For war correspondent Matthieu Aikins, uncovering the brutal career of a crucial US ally meant wrestling with the ugly truths of the conflict in Afghanistan. With colleagues at The New York Times, Aikins documented the disappearances of more than 300 Afghans during the reign of General Abdul Raziq. The actual toll is likely far higher.

• A fascinating look at the courts of the Old Bailey, and the man who reports on them: Guy Toyn, the co-owner of the news agency Court News TV. Toyn goes from court to court, reporting on stories he hopes will make the national news—but often don’t. He is a larger-than-life character, and this piece is as much about him as it is about the workings of the Old Bailey.

• As a Spanish reporter, Pablo González charmed his way into Russian opposition circles and covered Putin’s wars. Then, in 2022, he was arrested on suspicion of espionage. Many former associates now believe that he betrayed them.

👀Watch this

One video you have to watch today

Top Gear has obviously changed a lot since their days of Clarkson and crew on TV. Now, they do incredibly cool stuff like this.

💵Pre-loved precision

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