Do square watches stand to benefit in the wake of the Patek Philippe Cubitus?

Zach Blass

Speaking strictly on my behalf, when the Patek Philippe Cubitus was properly announced, my initial reaction was dumbfounded rage that then simmered to a chilled eye roll. Many of my colleagues who have experienced one in the metal said it looks and wears better in person, and if I’m being totally honest, I don’t actually think it’s a bad-looking watch. My criticism of the Cubitus is not so much an aesthetic one, though I do believe 45mm is too large, and that using a round movement instead of a shaped one is a bit lazy for a brand that stands at the peak of the Holy Trinity.

What ultimately tweaks my tourb is that the Cubitus, Patek’s first new collection in 25 years, is an underwhelming novelty that shares too much of a likeness to the model Thierry Stern seemingly wanted to distance the brand from: the Nautilus. So, while I don’t find myself terribly interested in Patek Philippe’s new square watch, I am curious whether the Cubitus could potentially improve the value and interest in other square watches.

One brand, Benjamin James, has already made the most of it, having enjoyed an organic moment in the spotlight with The New York Times thanks to its Scarifour Auto Green released earlier this year, in an article titled Watches That Look Similar in Everything but the Price Tag written by Scott Cacciola. It’s worth a full read, but the interesting thing stated in the story was the sense of a full-circle moment. Benjamin J. Adams, founder of Benjamin James, admitted that his design was inspired by watches like the Nautilus. But he was also very surprised to see his rectangular remix of the Nautilus bear a resemblance to Patek’s much-hyped new collection.

While some people would like the idea of being able to tear down Patek Philippe and accuse the brand of stealing the Scarifour’s design, Adams himself recognises that it was a “total coincidence”. But because there are people who have now shared photos of the Scairfour online jesting that “Benjamin Adams did it first”, all of a sudden, a very young brand has garnered a lot of eyeballs thanks to its resemblance to the Cubitus – and getting a feature in The New York Times – arguably the most influential and widespread newspaper and website in the English-speaking world – as a result.

That being said, any watch fan worth their salt will immediately recognise the vast differences between the US$711 Scarifour Auto Green and the US$41,240 Cubitus 5821/1A-001. The Scarifour’s 31mm width and elongated rectangular form do not fool anyone. It’s the form paired with the octagonal bezel and Nautilus-style bracelet that tricks the eye.

Understandably, the level of finish on the Benjamin James is not at the level at which Patek Philippe is able to perform. The same can be said about the calibre of the calibre – pun fully intended. Patek Philippe produces its movements in-house and decorates them to a very high standard, while Benjamin James (again understandably) uses an automatic Miyota movement that offers solid performance at a much, much lower price point.

Interestingly, Ben Clymer of Hodinkee reported on the launch of the Cubitus that Stern cited the TAG Heuer Monaco as a creative spark of sorts for the Cubitus. Clymer wrote: “Thierry said he began with two things: first was the simple fact that 85% of watches sold in this world are round – and though he thinks the TAG Heuer Monaco is very cool, he found it too thick – so he wanted to make a square watch, but thin.”

Funnily enough, the Cubitus itself is not really a square watch like the Monaco – it has an octagonal sensibility to it; a squarishness thanks to the cut corners. This is why many people have noted that the Santos de Cartier is a better value alternative thanks to a design with longstanding pedigree, attractive specifications, and a four-figure price tag. It also notably has a squared dial framed by a subtly octagonal bezel.

The square watch category, in terms of watches that are truly square, is not so vast, and I don’t think that any truly square watches like the Monaco stand to benefit. Watches like the Santos de Cartier, however, could see some trickle-down interest (for lack of a better phrase), namely with people who have yet to discover the sportiest take on a 120-year-old design.

Any brand that can inspire watch enthusiasts to have a genuine and calm dialogue about whether or not a said watch looks like the Cubitus could see an uptick in interest. The cost of said interest, while not necessarily being labelled as a derivative of the Cubitus, is that their watch is labelled as an alternative or compromise – something less than. The New York Times reported that Benjamin James successfully sold its first batch of 300 Scarifours, and I feel confident that the next batch of Scarifour Auto pre-orders is probably going well with increased awareness of the brand. Then again, the Scarifour is now known, to an extent, as the ‘cheap Cubitus’.

Aside from the Santos de Cartier, another design some may discover in the quest for Cubitus alternatives is the Bell & Ross BR05. Bell & Ross is well-known for truly square, flight instrument-inspired watches, but collections like the BR03 are less likely to benefit than the softly-squared case and integrated bracelet of the BR05.

Ultimately, I think what stands to increase for the square (or square-ish) watch market is the awareness of such watches – not necessarily their sales. With a marquee model like the Cubitus, there then arises consumer interest in searching for alternatives, and publications reporting on such options. So, the balls are in the courts of watch brands who could strike while the iron’s hot and position their square designs in front of collectors’ eyes without overtly trying to ride the Cubitus wave.