Mathieu Cleguer makes his debut under his own name, with the intricate Inspiration One. The relatively young movement constructor is well known in the industry but has not produced watches under his own name until now. Having worked for various movement specialists — including a stint at Akrivia — Mr Cleguer launches Cleguer Horology with a thoroughly impressive debut featuring a proprietary escapement. 

Initial thoughts

Although the market for artisanal time-only watches has becoming increasingly crowded, sometimes a new creation comes along that genuinely stands apart. This is the case with Cleguer Horology’s Inspiration One — a watch that that is surprisingly refined and technically imaginative for a new maker’s debut.

Mathieu Cleguer is representative of a new class of independent watchmakers who are not ‘watchmakers’ in the traditional sense. Instead, he is an engineer, with the training and experience to bring fundamentally new concepts to life, so long as he can find the manufacturing partners and bench watchmakers to help realise his vision.

It’s a fundamentally different background than what we’re used to seeing — George Daniels, Kari Voutilainen, and François-Paul Journe started their careers doing hands-on restoration work long before they designed movements of their own. But times have changed, and the emergence of engineer-led brands is a new trend made possible by the depth of the supplier network in Switzerland.

For the visual design of the Inspiration One, Mr Cleguer worked with artist Lee Yuen-Rapati to create a strong visual identity for his first piece. Mr Yuen-Rapati is perhaps better known by his Instagram account One Hour Watch, and earns consistent praise for his designs. Some founders would have insisted on designing their first watch themselves, but such efforts rarely succeed — there’s no substitute for a real designer.

Mr Cleguer also focused on bringing something new to the table from a mechanical point of view, not merely dressing up a basic movement. He invented, prototyped and finally produced a working novel double-wheel escapement — the Innate escapement. Such endeavours are not easy, especially for an engineer working as a one-man research and development team.

Finally, Mr Cleguer opted for a limited inaugural run of souscription pieces. Housed in titanium and priced just below CHF60,000, all 12 pieces have already been sold. Future configurations will shift to precious metal cases, priced closer to the CHF100,000 mark.

This pricing might have felt ambitious a few years ago, but in today’s market it feels justified. And launching with a well-priced souscription series in titanium was an astute way to draw attention and reward early believers.

Style and finish

The Inspiration One souscription edition pictured is cased in a comfortably sized 38.5 mm titanium case that’s about 12 mm thick, defined by simple but resolute lines. There is no bezel, a trick often employed to guide the eye toward the dial. 

Of course, with the Inspiration One, there is a lot more to see than just the dial. The dial is actually a rather small champlevé Grand Feu affair placed off-centre. The design plays on both colour and shapes with blue and gold print and beefy (but elegant) blued hands. 

The seconds hand is centrally mounted — suggestive of the focus on chronometry.

Right next to the dial, at the 12 o’clock position, sits the barrel. The visible drum is gently solarised and pivots in a gold jewel setting. The power reserve scale is positioned intuitively at the edge of the barrel itself.

As indicated by the power reserve scale, the movement will only run for 36 hours on a full wind before it stops due to a Maltese cross stop-work. The idea is to use only the linearly decreasing torque stored inside the barrel — so the mainspring is never fully wound nor fully uncoiled.

The most dynamic part of the dial-side tableau is the large 2.5 Hz balance wheel. Featuring a free-sprung architecture, the balance is paired with a blued hairspring with a prominent overcoil. The weighted balance is supported by a polished steel bridge. 

Charmingly, the pivot is anchored outside of the bridge’s axis. Apart from just being an eccentric design choice, the bridge shape allows a better view of the hairspring’s rhythmic breathing and a glimpse of the twin escape wheels underneath. 

The plates are made from untreated German silver — hence the warm hue. The surface is grained, serving as a neutral background to the black polished steel components. 

The same emphasis on layering is carried over on the case back, which is characterised by greater density in terms of components. 

The entire going train is on full view, from barrel to the twin escape wheels. There is one raised bridge which anchors the barrel together with the first three mobiles of the going train. The bridge is still grained, but treated with a steely grey finish.

A second, smaller bridge holds the escapement components. Made from black-polished steel, the bridge vaguely resembles a lyre, although the shape was chosen to cater to the specific geometry of the Innate escapement. 

The marks of a constructor

During winding, the click action is heavy and properly crunchy — winding the Inspiration One is both a tactile and visual treat. The ratchet wheel with its sharp wolf’s teeth looks disconnected from the winding train. This is a deliberate choice — the ratchet wheel conceals a smaller winding wheel fixed on the underside. The hidden gear connects with the crown wheel and completes the winding works. 

The dual-levelled ratchet wheel is journaled to a sleeve-like mainspring arbour component. The sleeve fits over a central pillar — which is fixed to the barrel drum. The fixing point of said pillar is on the dial side, but is concealed by the barrel bridge. This construction is characteristic of motor barrels. 

The sleeve arbour is linked to the inner ends of the mainspring, while the outer ends are attached as usual to the inside of the barrel drum. The point of this elaborate construction is to allow the unusual sight of having the Maltese cross stop-work mounted directly on the ratchet wheel. The Maltese cross (Or Geneva stop-work) is the classic way of making sure the barrel torque is linearised over the running time of the timepiece. 

In the classic construction of this system, the “finger” component is rigid with the arbour and the “cross” piece is affixed to the barrel drum. During winding, the finger would advance the cross in steps, until the latter’s geometry prevents further turns. As the barrel would then slowly unwind, the finger would remain still and the cross slowly turn against it until stoppage.

In Mr Cleguer’s design, the ratchet-mounted cross wheel revolves around the finger during winding. The finger piece is rigidly connected to the barrel drum via the central pillar, and the ratchet is free to pivot around it, arming the mainspring through the sleeve-arbour. 

This makes for a more dynamic winding experience, but the construction remains otherwise functionally identical to the classic implementation. But the execution is more complex, showcasing Mr Cleguer’s skill as a movement constructor and willingness to devise elegant alternatives to commonplace mechanisms.

There is also a flat differential for the power reserve indicator hidden between the layers of the winding works. Relying on epicyclic gearing and a rather dense assortment of pinions, the power reserve indicator mysteriously sprouts from the underside of the inverted barrel. The wearer can easily read the remaining power reserve using the discreet blued hand and a small silvered sector. 

Another cleverly-constructed element is the hacking lever. Since the balance wheel is on full display and secluded visually from other components, a classic hacking lever tongue would have ruined the view.  

Mr Cleguer hid the hacking lever within the layered construction. The lever sits flush under the raised dial plate and its tongue is rounded, as to fit around the the central seconds hand pivot. When the crown is pulled, the concealed tongue sprouts outward, gently pushing against the balance rim to halt its swing. 

The Innate escapement

Although it cannot be filed under natural escapements, the so-called Innate escapement is an interesting blend of the Fasoldt chronometer, Robin escapement and Breguet’s infamous natural escapement. This new double wheel escapement of Mr Cleguer’s own design is arguably the main selling point of the Inspiration One so it warrants a closer look. 

In many ways the Innate escapement is an original and well-executed attempt at ameliorating the weaknesses of the current pool of escapements — both mass-produced and artisanal. Developing new escapements is not a straightforward process and every sub-family of escapement comes with its own issues. 

Escapements in which the balance roller has to interact with both a lever and directly with the escape wheel are inherently harder to set, due to tighter geometry constraints and overall tolerance of engagements. Examples include the Daniels co-axial, the Grand Seiko Dual Impulse escapement, and the various executions of the Double Independent Wheel escapement.

Due to the tolerances required, direct escape wheel-to-balance engagements are not always desirable. Direct tangential impulse to the balance may be considered the cleanest form of impulse but sometimes it is wise to find ways of working around it entirely. 

Mr Cleguer’s take on the matter is rather smart as it combines the security of the balance roller and fork interaction found in the ubiquitous Swiss lever with a purely tangential escape wheel-to-lever impulse. 

Figure I. Image – Mathieu Cleguer

There are two steel escape wheels, meshed together on the underside via large gears. The first “motor” escape mobile is directly powered by the going train, carrying the second “dead” mobile along.

The Innate escapement has a rather intuitive working cycle. Figure I shows the right escape wheel locked by one of the locking stones of the broad lever. The balance swings clockwise towards the anchor, initiating the unlocking. 

Figure II. Unlocking. Image – Mathieu Cleguer

Figure II shows the recoil of the escape wheels. There is a noticeable gap between the escape tooth and impulse pallet; the lever advances while the escape wheel is pushed backwards. 

Figure III shows the escape wheel finally liberated and catching up with the impulse pallet, actively pushing it. The impulse phase resembles the detent’s tangential impulse.  

Figure III. Impulse. Image – Mathieu Cleguer

Finally Figure IV shows the impulse phase coming to an end. The lever has reached the end of its travel and rests against the opposite banking pin. The escape wheels advance some more, making the run to the next locking. This is considered dead travel, much like the initial drop to the impulse pallet. 

A strong draw effect on the locking stones ensures the lever is kept tightly against the banking pins, leaving sufficient clearance for the inactive escape wheel to advance past the impulse pallet. 

Figure IV. End of lift. Image – Mathieu Cleguer

The escape wheels are offset by a half-tooth spacing and over one oscillation cycle (two vibrations, hence two unlockings, impulse delivered by both wheels) each wheel advances angularly by one escape tooth spacing. 

Crucially, the wheel that is locked (thus under tension from the barrel torque) is also positioned to impart impulse after unlocking. As such, there is no “flutter” involved in the “dead” escape wheel, so impulse is consistent when coming from both wheels.

The same trick was used inside Rolex’s Dynapulse. Of course, the difference in construction is undeniable, but the core principle remains the same. Since Mr Cleguer has privately worked on this project for a long time and everyone knows how secretive Rolex is, there is no way the two systems are even remotely connected. 

Rolex Dynapulse for comparison. Image – Rolex

Regardless, the Innate escapement and Rolex’s Dynapulse can both be reduced to the same functional schematic as per Dr. Oliver Laesser’s primitive escapement theory.

Although functionally the same, the Dynapulse and Innate escapements are very different breeds. The Dynapulse is a lesson in industrial engineering and forward-thinking efficiency approach while the Innate escapement benefits from a more artisanal, heartfelt effort. The combination of steel, brass and ruby pallets makes for a compelling sight, especially given the elegant architecture of the wheels and lever. 

Efficiency considerations

While the Innate escapement has all the signs of a chronometrically-potent escapement, there are a few elements that might lower its global efficiency. An escapement’s efficiency is determined by its frictional, inertial and geometric losses; while the frictional losses might be considered almost negligible, the other two criteria likely reduce the Innate escapement’s global performance. 

Probably the Innate escapement’s greatest weakness can be found in the broad and heavy driving wheels, which look disproportionately large compared to the escape wheels themselves. This means the system must overcome a lot of inertia to accelerate from standstill.

Newer escapement designs often use titanium and/or hollow geometries to keep their mass (thus inertia) in check. In contrast, the Innate escapement relies on large brass meshing gears that are visually appealing but comparatively heavy. Add to that the large lever, and the inertial loss of the Innate escapement is likely substantial relative to most designs in use today. 

Secondly — and this might be a stretch — the multi-purpose lever is unbalanced. Judging by the shape, position of the jewels and the elongated balance surfaces, the lever’s center of mass sits far away from the pivot point — meaning gravity can induce a bias to the system.

In other words, depending on the position of the timepiece, the consistency of impulse might vary. A true measure of the how real this effect is would be to measure the average torque at the escape wheel and compare it with the gravity-generated defect. 

In terms of geometric efficiency, the Innate escapement also loses a little. Based on angle measurements taken on the escapement figures, the geometric efficiency of the Innate escapement was computed to be 66.1%. As a short reminder, this metric is the ratio of the useful travel of one escape wheel (when it is in full engagement with the impulse pallet) over the entire angular step.

Over one oscillation, each of the mirrored escape wheels travels 360/14 degrees. However, only 8.5° of useful impulse was measured. This is in part due to the heavy recoil of the escape wheels, which allows the impulse pallets to accelerate away from the escape tooth during unlocking. The angles of impulsion are visually shown in Figure V.

Figure V. Impulse angles. Image – Mathieu Cleguer, annotated by the author

The Innate escapement is said to be self-starting — a feature that is generally lacking from traditional natural escapements. The claim seems to be supported by the overall geometry of the system. When the watch is unwound, the large balance should be centred by the hairspring, keeping the lever in a relaxed, neutral position. Given the half-tooth offset between the escape wheels, as soon as some torque reaches the escapement, one escape tooth is bound to strike one of the pallets — thus initiating oscillation. 

While the theoretical efficiency of the Innate escapement may be limited, that’s not to say it offers no chronometric potential — real-life experience will reveal how well the system will behave.

It’s also important to note that efficiency was not the key priority of the design and Mr Cleguer hasn’t made any bold claims about improving the efficiency over the standard Swiss lever. Instead, the benefit of the Innate escapement is that it runs cleaner than a Swiss lever and doesn’t require much lubrication — sound claims based on the escapement’s geometry.

Closing thoughts

Ultimately, the Inspiration One stands as a compelling debut from Mathieu Cleguer. From construction to finishing, the Inspiration One is the result of what has clearly been a long-time passion project for Mr Cleguer. 

While the Innate escapement’s real efficiency might be debatable, it undeniably showcases an increasingly rare willingness to take risks and stray away from the beaten path. Reinventing something as fundamental as the escapement is always a commendable — if ambitious — undertaking. 

From construction to finishing and style, the Inspiration One delivers in almost every respect. Perhaps most importantly, it manages to convey a distinct voice and style in a crowded field.

Key facts and price

Cleguer Horology Inspiration One
Ref. I1

Diameter: 38.5 mm
Height: 12 mm
Material: Souscription in titanium; choice of precious metals available for future series
Crystal: Sapphire
Water resistance: 30 m

Movement: I1
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds, power reserve and innate escapement
Winding: Manual
Frequency: 18,000 beats per hour (2.5 Hz)
Power reserve: 36 hours

Strap: Leather strap with matching buckle

Limited edition: Yes, 12-piece souscription sold-out; total production of 80 pieces in four distinct precious metals.
Availability: Directly from Cleguer.
Price: CHF95,300 excluding taxes

For more information, visit Cleguer.com.

Among the independent brands officially exhibiting at Watches & Wonders, Ressence was a standout. The design-forward Belgian independent took a major step forward with the Type 11, powered by the brand’s first proprietary calibre, the RW-01. The Type 11 is tangibly appealing and priced well considering both its unique design and technical content.

Initial thoughts

When I first saw images of the Type 11 and its RW-01 movement, I had the same feeling as when Urwerk launched the EMC back in 2013. At the time, the EMC felt like the start of a new era for a brand that had, up to that point, primarily put its proprietary modules atop widely available off-the-shelf calibres. The EMC proved Urwerk was willing to rethink the movement in its entirety to realise a specific vision.

The RW-01 reveals Ressence is moving in that same direction. After 15 years of adapting its Ressence Orbital Convex System (ROCS) modules to ETA-derived calibres, the brand has taken the next step in its development and partnered with an adept supplier to construct a proprietary movement uniquely suited to its signature design.

The new calibre was engineered with Ressence’s ROCS module in mind. The movement layout appears purpose-built for winding and setting via the case back, lacking an ordinary stem, and dual serially coupled mainspring barrels extend the power reserve to 60 hours — quite long considering the mass of the ROCS module.

While I would have been delighted to see a free-sprung balance, I’m satisfied with the trade-offs that were made in construction, which focused efforts on the areas most likely to provide a tangible benefit to the user — namely the power reserve and user interface. The attractive, industrial finishing is also more than adequate for this segment in general, especially considering the RW-01’s raison d’être lies elsewhere.

It helps that the movement debuts in a trio of attractive liveries, and in an appealing 41 mm size that feels just right — easily wearable, but big enough to let the brand’s unusual regulator-style dial room to breath. The grey/brown, green, and blue colourways — Latte, Pine, and Sky — are each appealing in their own way.

The straightforward palette is sensible, as is the choice to offer a selection. It must have been tempting to launch the RW-01 in a limited edition with a higher price tag to accelerate the return on investment for the new movement, especially in today’s market that supports lofty valuations for watches from independent watchmakers. Instead, Ressence has priced the Type 11 competitively at just CHF23,000, offering a trio of well-priced hits.

A pebble on the wrist

The Type 11 is constructed from a lightweight combination of grade 5 titanium and sapphire crystal, shaped into a pebble-like case that’s 41 mm and 11 mm thick. Thanks to its bezel-less design — which also lacks a crown — the case effectively disappears on the wrist save for the simple polished lugs protruding at the corners.

Without a traditional crown, the movement is wound and set via a rotating case back. On some Ressence models, this is not so easy — at times it can be hard to get a good grip. But the Type 11 is among the models with a flip-up tab built into the case back, which makes winding and setting a breeze — each action is accomplished by rotating the case back in a different direction.

The winding tab helps overcome the resistance of the gaskets, which now support a depth rating of 30 m. This is up from just 10 m for prior Ressence models without screw-locked case backs. While the brand’s other watches are capable of exceeding their 10 m test depth, the conservative rating is intended to account for a degree of gasket decline and the loosening of tolerances over time.

In this context, the Type 11’s 30 m rating is both believable and welcome, and should widen the brand’s appeal among collectors looking for an original design from an independent watchmaker that they can wear daily.

Though most of the movement is concealed behind a solid case back, a small kidney-shaped porthole allows a peak at the RW-01 movement, and the rim of the rotor as it races past the window.

A familiar face

The signature Ressence dial can take some getting used to, but once accustomed it becomes highly legible. The entire dial is a rotating panel with a fixed minute hand, making one revolution per hour. The sub-dials for the hour, seconds, and power reserve float in the ROCS planetary gear set, staying level at all times.

It’s a fascinating look truly unlike anything else in watchmaking, and the ‘travelling’ aspect of the sub-dials gives the watch a different personality throughout each hour.

Both of the smaller sub-dials are notable for different reasons. Starting with the seconds, some earlier Ressence models lacked the ability to display running seconds, opting instead for a six-minute ‘running’ indicator. The running indicator on the Type 11 is a little more lively with a 90-second rotation.

The power reserve indicator is even more interesting, with a first-of-its-kind display that uses a continuous series of ceramic balls — in three colours — to indicate the state of wind. Only a segment is visible at any given time, and the excess is channeled through a hidden maze behind the centre of the gauge.

The ceramic ball race brings a degree of three-dimensionality to a design that can, at times, look almost as flat as an electronic smart watch screen. The state of wind is indicated by the colours of the visible balls — when almost all the balls are white, the movement is fully wound. As the movement unwinds, the white balls disappear and grey ones take their place.

The power reserve itself is also notable for its length. For the sake of comparison, the Ressence Type 3 Marc Newson offers a mere 36 hours of power reserve, making the Type 11’s 60 hours seem like an eternity. This type of gain fully justifies the move up to a proprietary calibre, to say nothing of the simplified process for winding and setting.

Key Facts and Price

Ressence Type 11
Ref. TYPE 11L (Latte)
Ref. TYPE 11P (Pine)
Ref. TYPE 11S (Sky)

Diameter: 41 mm
Height: 11 mm
Material: Grade 5 titanium
Crystal: Sapphire
Water resistance: 30 m

Movement: In-house developed RW-01 movement with ROCS 11.1 module
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds and power reserve indicator
Winding: Automatic
Frequency: 28,800 beats per hour (4 Hz)
Power reserve: 60 hours

Strap: Leather, rubber or Milanese mesh titanium bracelet

Limited edition: No
Availability: From selected Ressence retailers worldwide starting May 2026
Price: CHF23,000, excluding taxes

For more information, visit Ressencewatches.com.

Patek Philippe’s divisive Cubitus collection enters its third year with the firm’s first truly skeletonised perpetual calendar wristwatch, the Cubitus ref. 5840p-001 Perpetual Calendar Skeleton. As the first member of its clan with a shaped movement, it also welcomes a contemporary aesthetic that breaks with the brand’s established codes of movement decoration, though it’s built on a decades-old foundation.

In short, the ref. 5840P is an ideal ambassador for what the Cubitus line can be when it steps out from its brother’s shadow.

Initial thoughts

The most complicated — and most expensive — Cubitus yet is also arguably the best model in the collection to date, as it probably should be. While on paper it sounds derivative of the Nautilus perpetual calendar, this watch may have the strongest identity of any Cubitus launched so far by fully leaning into the bolder, more contemporary aesthetic that Patek Philippe has, until recently, hesitated to explore.

Several details allow the ref. 5840P to have its own identity. The first is the use of a strap, rather than the typical Nautilus-style bracelet. The reshaped movement is another differentiator, as is the new finishing style, which makes it more than just a square Nautilus. Yet the teak deck motif remains central, integrated seamlessly into the skeletonised design.

Two other details that stand out are the use of a baguette-cut diamond to denote the platinum case, rather than the usual brilliant-cut stone, and the oversized photorealistic moon phase indicator. The latter detail debuted on a pair of limited edition world time watches back in 2014 but this is the first time it’s appeared in the regular collection.

While it might not be as romantic as the enamelled moon phase discs of the past, it’s probably an improvement over the rather bland moon phases on most modern Patek Philippe watches, excepting designs like the Celestial ref. 6105 and the Sky Moon Tourbillon.

As a derivative of the venerable cal. 240 Q, with all the latest technical updates, the cal. 28-28 Q SQU will surely be a reliable and excellent timekeeper. That said, the use of a legacy platform feels at odds with the contemporary ambitions of the Cubitus.

This is something Patek Philippe already leaned into with the new big date complication that debuted with the Cubitus in 2024, which helped that watch stand out. Furthermore, the cal. 240-based platform doesn’t use the Cubitus’s large size to its full advantage, nor does it stand out from the Nautilus perpetual calendar as much as it could have if Patek Philippe had equipped it with the in-line perpetual, for example.

Of course, there is formidable competition in this segment from Audemars Piguet’s latest — and slightly more expensive — Openworked Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar, which sports a movement that is more technically advanced but less proven.

The cal. 7139 in the Royal Oak also boasts more than 200 interior angles, a figure that’s notable since inward angles were evidently not a priority for cal. 28-28 Q SQU that powers the Cubitus. Sharp interior angles might be a hot topic in enthusiast circles, but seemingly not something that will move the needle enough for Patek Philippe to make them a design priority.

That said, I am not convinced that the movement’s slat-style design would benefit from such treatment. And for those who prize such details, Patek Philippe makes another skeletonised cal. 240 variant found in the ref. 5180.

Case and calibre

Patek Philippe launched 24 models this year, and 10 of those are powered by venerable cal. 240 in its many forms. This movement is essentially a cal. 240 Q — which has powered everything from the ref. 3940 to the Nautilus Perpetual Calendar — inside a square frame.

It could be described as a “shaped movement” but only in terms of aesthetics — it doesn’t make use of the extra space afforded by its square footprint. This isn’t new for Patek Philippe — the brand used the same trick to turn the round cal. 215 into the rectangular cal. 25-21 REC.

While the movement isn’t altogether new, it’s quite thin. This factor helps keeps the case rather slim for a complicated water-resistant sports watch, at exactly 10 mm. But it’s taller than its sibling in the Nautilus collection, giving it a more substantial look and feel.

Height aside, the size and proportions match those of the normal large Cubitus model, measuring 45 mm diagonally. It feels smaller than that number suggests, and wears bolder — but only a little bigger — than a Nautilus ref. 5811.

Many of the components sandwiched between the square plates of the movement are also skeletonised, such as the barrel and parts of the perpetual calendar. The last major change to the movement lies in the moon phase indicator, which uses a single, photorealistic moon printed on a glass disc that rotates at twice the speed of a normal double-moon moon phase disc. It sits over another glass disc which is printed with starts, giving it depth.

Like Patek Philippe’s other full-sized mechanical movements equipped with a Spiromax silicon hairspring and Gyromax free-sprung balance, the cal. 28-28 Q SQU is rated to run between -1 and +2 seconds per day, despite its small-diameter balance wheel and moderate beat rate.

This exceeds even Rolex’s Superlative Chronometer standard, and is a testament to Patek Philippe’s industrial excellence and prescient investments in silicon technology.

In fairness, not everything about the cal. 28-28 Q SQU is state-of-the-art. The calendar indications must still be set using a stylus. With each passing year, this traditional approach feels increasingly antiquated. Of course, with the proper tool it is quick and easy, and the watch remains water resistant enough for swimming and diving down to 30m, according to Patek Philippe.

But this method introduces more opportunities for user error, especially if the user loses the stylus and attempts adjustment with a makeshift stylus that might damage the pusher or the case.

Styling

The styling of the movement is highly unusual for Patek Philippe, with a straight-grained, brushed surface finish on the plates. The going train and balance are rhodium-plated rather than the usual gilt, and the monochromatic look is furthered with the use of clear sapphire jewels.

That leaves the blued screws — which are truly heat blued — as the only pop of colour, other than the pink pallet stones, which are said to be retained for the watchmaker’s benefit since they are easier to see.

Patek Philippe generally does not use blued screws, as the firm adheres closely to the Genevois style. Blued screws could be found on occasion in watches made for the English or German markets, where they were favoured.

Use of clear sapphire jeweling is another departure and it is interesting Patek Philippe went with blue screws rather than blue jewels, as the firm historically (but sparingly) used blue jewels in its highest grade simple watches.

The new Cubitus movement compared to a Patek Philippe movement with blue screws, cased by Frodsham in 1912. Image – Antiquorum

Clear jewels are increasingly common in avant-garde designs, such as those from Richard Mille and Ulysse Nardin, but they have also found their way into more traditional calibres from the likes of Louis Vuitton.

Their presence in a complicated movement from Patek Philippe shows the historical brand isn’t done trying new things. It’s worth noting Patek Philippe holds a significant stake in La Pierrette — a manufacturer of jewels and precision parts in Le Chenit that also supplies Rolex and Richemont — so it has ample access to the stones of its choosing.

The rotor is also worth mentioning. While Patek Philippe has switched to platinum 950 for many of its micro-rotors, this remains 22k gold under the rhodium plating. It is machine-engraved with the teak deck motif, then further engraved with the Calatrava cross, which is filled with blue varnish — an enclave of the old Patek Philippe in a bold new one.

Key facts and price

Patek Philippe Cubitus Perpetual Calendar Skeleton
Ref. 5840p-001

Diameter: 45 mm (diagonally)
Height: 10 mm
Material: Platinum 950
Crystal: Sapphire
Water resistance: 30 m

Movement: Cal. 28-28 Q SQU
Functions: Hours, minutes, perpetual calendar with day, date, month, leap year, day/night indicator, and phases of the moon.
Frequency: 21,600 beats per hour (3 Hz)
Winding: Automatic
Power reserve: 48 hours

Strap: Textile pattern composite with platinum folding clasp

Limited edition: No
Availability: At Patek Philippe retailers and salons
Price: US$187,547 excluding taxes

For more, visit Patek.com.