OK this is going to be a big “what if”, but one that is certainly thought-provoking is that on October 17th, Patek Philippe will launch its most accessibly priced model yet. A family of steel (and possibly gold as well) square watches, created for men. But will this family feature the very best in Patek Philippe quartz technology? Here are several reasons why it very well could.

Not Just for Very, Very Rich People

The layout of the new watch depicted in the advertisement that was unfortunately leaked by Fortune Magazines’ Oct/ Nov edition has been the subject of much speculation. Our Technical Editor Cheryl Chia is convinced that the base caliber of this timepiece is going to be the shaped version of the legendary Caliber 240 micro-rotor movement, based on the placement of the small seconds hand. Like the reference 5712, it has a moon phase display right next to the small seconds but instead of the date, the sub-dial shows the day of the week. Distinguishing this new timepiece is a prominent new big date function. Exciting right?

But before we get too deep into the details of the watch, let’s first look at something Patek Philippe President Thierry Stern said regarding this new particular launch while in an interview with Bloomberg back in March 2023. He explained, ”You should not only do a million dollar watch; we don’t have only very, very rich people as customers … We have people who are passionate who can spend a maximum of $30,000 to $40,000 on a watch — which is already a lot of money.” 

So there are only two conclusions one can make from the watch depicted in the Fortune Magazine ad which appears to offer a day and big date display, along with moonphase and small seconds. Either Patek Philippe has for some reason created a watch in the US$30K-40K range with the added complication of a newly patented big date for US$20K less than the retail price of a Reference 5712 in steel, or they have found a way to make the price of the watch more accessible by embracing quartz technology. 

The Case for Quartz

There has never been a moment when quartz watches have appealed to watch collectors more. One watch that helped to achieve this was F.P. Journe’s Élégante that has somehow become the favorite trophy timepiece for every VC or private equity investor worth his Arcteryx vest. But in all seriousness, the Élégante is a superb timepiece, featuring movement finishing that is level with any serious mechanical watch out there. It has a unique feature of being able to go to sleep to save battery life and jumping back to the correct time as soon as you pick it up. Additionally, it is a watch that allowed Francois-Paul Journe to double the quantity of watches he produced. Based on the Morgan Stanley × LuxeConsult Report on Swiss watches, his 2023 production was 1,900 pieces with 900 of them believed to be Élégantes. The Élégante has become the entry-level Journe timepiece but also a watch that packs serious credibility in any circle. 

In recent years, quartz has also become more acceptable and better understood. Grand Seiko makes a Super Quartz watch that is fantastic. Cartier also demonstrated the renewed relevance of quartz with the Tank Must in colors like green, red and blue all with quartz movements, and which were amongst the maison’s most desirable models. At the same time, Cartier launched the Tank Must SolarBeat with an extremely elegant and ingeniously designed solar-powered dial.

Quartz is nothing new for Patek Philippe. Indeed for many years, the quartz E15-powered Twenty~4 was one of the maison’s most popular references. It was launched because the President of Patek Philippe at the time, the incredible Philippe Stern, wanted to create a versatile watch with “something of the company’s DNA that resonated specifically with women.” The watch took its design cues from the brand’s Art Deco-themed Gondolo collection. Launched in 1999, the watch was accompanied by a stunning ad campaign that featured model Bridgette Hall and the phrase, ‘Who will you be in the next 24 hours?” The entry price of the watch was US$7,500, which opened up Patek Philippe to whole new demographic of younger women. Patek Philippe suddenly felt sexy, vibrant and modern. The result was a juggernaut of a success, so much so that it was only in 2018 that a mechanical version of the Twenty~4 was added.  

Bear in mind that a quartz Patek Philippe caliber is finished to the same level as a mechanical movement and I am sure will feature some details that will elevate the game for these types of movements. The manufacture has also consistently developed new references of the quartz-driven Twenty~4 even after the mechanical round-cased version was introduced, suggesting that it has every intention to keep both mechanical and quartz options in this collection.

And that brings us to the new timepiece set to launch on October 17th, which is the maison’s first completely new collection since 1999 — exactly 25 years after the Twenty~4 was created.

It’s Hip to be Square

At this point, it seems clear to the entire watch collecting community that the name of the new Patek Philippe watch implies a square shape. Throughout watchmaking history, there are numerous iconic men’s dress watches in this shape such as the Cartier Tank or Santos-Dumont and the Vacheron Constantin Cioccolatone. There is also an interesting period in the mid 70’s to 90’s when square watches came back into fashion as a showcase for an all new type of movement technology. 

Let’s hark back to the halcyon era of the integrated bracelet sports chic watch. Let’s look at three models in particular: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak created in 1972 designed by Gerald Genta, Vacheron Conastantin 222 launched in 1977 and designed by Jorg Hysek, and the Piaget Polo launched in 1979 designed by Yves Piaget and Jean-Claude Gueit. All three of these watches would become icons of their era, but all of three of these watches in relatively unchanged guise are amongst the most desirable or at least relevant watches today. Interestingly, all three of these watches also once came in a square version. 

In the case of the AP, the square watch was used as a proud showcase for quartz technology. So much so that the square “Royal Oak” was advertised with the slogan “Is This the Acceptable Face of Innovation?” All three of the square watches have flown under the radar in comparison to their more famous siblings, but in recent years, thanks to Gen Z’s embracing of shaped watches, have started to experience a cult collectability of their own. Yes, there is something of a debate as to the square AP, even being strictly speaking a “Royal Oak”, as model 6005 is referred to in AP catalogues simply as the “Quartz” model. AP’s website states, “In her memoir written in 2006, AP’s former creative director Jacqueline Dimier explained: “The temptation to introduce quartz in the Royal Oak line was great, but the management was opposed to it and instead created a related line, ref. 6005, that was rectangular with bevelled edge. It had the same bracelet and suitable finishing, but to set itself apart, the screws were replaced by four studs.”

In contrast to the AP Reference 6005, the square-case Vacheron Constantin 222 (Reference 46004) was offered with an automatic movement, specifically the same JLC 920-derived Calibre 1122 found in its barrel-shaped sibling. It features the same unique bezel with semi-circular cut outs and the same bracelet design as the regular 222. The case of the watch measures 31mm × 38mm, and just like the AP Reference 6005, the square 222 has also become an object of cult collectability. It is believed to have been made in around 300 examples before becoming discontinued. 

The square Piaget Polo Reference 7131 C701 was launched in 1979 along with the more famous round model and was made exclusively with a quartz movement, the Piaget Calibre 7P. Interestingly, the square Polo developed a kind of ultra-cool “insiders watch” status and has been adopted by countless celebrities including Michael B. Jordan. This is possibly because the square watch feels even more like a seamless piece of jewellery particularly in the hardstone dial versions or gem-set versions seen here. 

What is definitely interesting is that in the case of both AP and Piaget, the brands were using their watches to proudly showcase their in-house quartz movement.

Patek Philippe also made a quartz integrated bracelet sports watch in the 1970s as an alternative to its legendary Nautilus 3700 1/A. The Reference 3770 was a wildly libidinous cross breed between the Nautilus and the Ellipse. It was unveiled in spring of 1980 at the now-defunct Baselworld, and according to Patek Philippe historian John Reardon, Ref. 3770 was created because the 3700 was “selling well but not so well.” The world at the time had become enamoured with the ultra-thin watches made possible by quartz technology. Patek responded by creating the 3770 that measured a mere 6.5mm in thickness thanks to the use of a quartz E27 movement inside. 

But in recent years, Gen Z’s tastes as evinced by magazines like Heist Out and the rise of young influencers has skewed precisely toward these type of square integrated bracelet watches. Furthermore, they have also demonstrated a willingness to purchase watches even if they are quartz.

Patek Philippe has also spent a vast amount of time, effort and money staging its Watch Art Grand Exhibitions with the objective to share its brand philosophy and beautiful creations with people from all walks of life. The maison stressed as much since the 2015 London exhibition, and this is perfectly congruous with Thierry Stern’s statement that Patek Philippe is not just for collectors. Whether it was intentional or not, the Watch Art Grand Exhibitions ended up endearing Patek Philippe to a much wider audience than ever before. Should the manufacture create an accessibly priced men’s quartz line, it would be a dream come true for the thousands who have since stepped into this world, and who would otherwise never have the chance to own a Patek Philippe, let alone look after it for the next generation.

We will all just have to wait and see on October 17th for the official launch.

Another possible scenario is that the ad that was leaked was the most expensive model in the range, costing somewhere between US$50K-60K, and there will be a separate category of more accessibly priced references including a time-only version (a shaped caliber 26-330 perhaps?) that will be more budget-friendly. Bear in mind that for the moment, the time-only Nautilus is only available in white gold so if the new watch is offered in steel, then this becomes a unique offer.

In the end there are many rabbit holes to go down, and the idea of a men’s quartz line is just one of them. And even if it ends up being dead wrong, which it could very well be, it was certainly interesting to think about.