Patek Philippe‘s showing at Watches and Wonders this year was one of its most ambitious in recent memory. So much so that they took home the distinction of being the Maison with the largest number of references released at the fair—with over 20.
They showcased a quartet of Nautilus anniversary editions and brought updates to the Calatrava and the Golden Ellipse. They zeroed in on high horology, introducing the Celestial with a sunrise and sunset display, as well as a couple of new perpetual calendars—which brings us to the main highlight of the novelties: the brand-new Cubitus Perpetual Calendar.
The 5840P kicks off the Cubitus’ foray into grand complications with a perpetual calendar, and it’s presented across three subdials conveying the date, day of the week, month, moon phases, and leap years. Designed to run for decades without requiring manual adjustments to account for varying month lengths and leap years, the marriage between a perpetual calendar and the Cubitus makes perfect sense—especially so since everyone seems to be looking after their Patek Philippe with the next generation in mind.
The moonphase display here is particularly interesting. It breaks with the convention of the typical moonphase display, which employs a small dial aperture and a rotating disc with two moons to obscure portions of the moon. In order to create a truer depiction of the moon, Patek Philippe has opted to use just one large, photorealistic moon that completes a single full rotation for every lunar cycle, rather than two.
The main draw of this watch, however, is something that requires very little close inspection to notice. It’s the shutter shades, the Cubitus now has a skeletonised dial. Much like its unconventional moonphase display, this is done so without conforming to expectations. The iconic horizontal ribbed pattern found on the dials of the Nautilus and Cubitus is replicated here through the shades, which are achieved through precise laser cutting.
Patek Philippe, 5840P
This allows glimpses into the ultra-thin self-winding calibre 28-28 Q SQU movement, which has adapted entirely to the squared shape of the Cubitus. It builds upon the previous calibre 240 Q, which was circular and left a considerable amount of unused space within the case. You’ll appreciate this best when you flip the watch over and view it through the ribbed caseback. The fully monochrome rhodium-plated movement is punctuated by heat-blued screws and a microrotor bearing hand-engraving of the Calatrava motif, also finished in blue.
From the front to the back, the 5840P’s mechanical heart is encased within a ribbed cage, which really lends its designation as a skeletonised watch an entirely new meaning.
Patek Philippe, 5840P
Apart from these updates, everything else remains largely the same—the same curved yet angular edges on the square case, and the same 45mm diameter, though this iteration measures slightly thicker at 10mm compared to the previous 9.6mm. There are no variations of this reference, just a platinum case set with a baguette-cut diamond in the bezel at 6 o’clock.
This article was first seen on Esquire Singapore.
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