Front view
Dial, hands and bezel as delivered.
Case-back view
Case-back engraving and, where fitted, the sapphire display.
Movement
Calibre with its finishing and decoration.
On the wrist
Worn shot for proportion and strap drape.
Patek Philippe · Cubitus
Patek Philippe Cubitus 40 mm Skeletonised Sapphire
Reference 18830OR.21
Reference at a glance
- Brand
- Patek Philippe
- Collection
- Cubitus
- Model
- Patek Philippe Cubitus 40 mm Skeletonised Sapphire
- Reference number
- 18830OR.21
- Year / era
- 1976 · 1970s — quartz-crisis era
- Complication
- Time only
- Movement
- In-house automatic with 22k gold rotor
- Case material
- Sapphire crystal case
- Dial type
- Skeletonised
- Strap / bracelet
- Integrated steel bracelet
- Water resistance
- 150 m
- Limited-edition status
- Limited edition of 500 pieces
Case, dial & bracelet
- Case dimensions
- 40 mm
- Case thickness
- 10.2 mm
- Case material
- Sapphire crystal case
- Bezel
- Smooth polished
- Crystal
- Anti-reflective sapphire, double-domed
- Dial
- Skeletonised
- Hands
- Faceted dauphine hands, polished by hand
- Indexes
- Printed minute track with applied batons
- Bracelet / strap
- Integrated steel bracelet
- Clasp / buckle
- Pin buckle in matching case metal
- Water resistance
- 150 m
Movement
- Movement / calibre
- Calibre 65C — In-house automatic with 22k gold rotor
- Movement type
- Automatic with micro-rotor
- Frequency
- 28,800 vph (4 Hz)
- Power reserve
- 10 days
- Number of jewels
- 21 jewels
- Complications
- Time only
- Functions
- GMT second time zone, date
- Watchmaker
- Assembled and regulated by a single watchmaker, who signs off the piece before casing.
Production & market
- Production period
- 1976 – 1983
- Limited-edition quantity
- 500 pieces
- Current market information
- Trades close to retail on the secondary market, with steady demand for full-set examples.
Designer
Emmanuel Gueit
Emmanuel Gueit came from a family of Geneva jewellers and was barely into his twenties when he drew the oversized Royal Oak Offshore in 1993 — a watch the house's traditionalists resisted and collectors turned into an icon.
Historical significance
Patek Philippe Cubitus 40 mm Skeletonised Sapphire sits within Patek Philippe's Cubitus line, introduced in 1976. It carries the house codes established since 1839 — sapphire crystal case case, skeletonised dial and in-house automatic with 22k gold rotor — and is one of the references collectors use to date the evolution of the collection.
Interesting facts
- The case is finished by hand, alternating polished and satin-brushed surfaces in a single pass so the edges stay razor sharp.
- Early production dials show a slightly different minute track, and collectors pay a premium for them.
The House
Patek Philippe
Brand facts
- Founding year
- 1839
- Founder
- Antoine Norbert de Patek & Adrien Philippe
- Headquarters
- Switzerland
- Tier
- Ultra-Luxury & Haute Horlogerie
- Major collections
- Nautilus, Aquanaut, Calatrava, Complications, Grand Complications, Golden Ellipse, Gondolo, Twenty~4, Cubitus
- Signature technologies
- Composite and ceramic case materials · Hand-applied guilloché dials
- Famous movements
- In-house tourbillon, manual-winding · In-house automatic with 22k gold rotor · In-house manual-winding, hand-finished · In-house automatic micro-rotor
- Notable watches
- Patek Philippe Nautilus 38 mm Slate Quartz (1999) · Patek Philippe Nautilus 41 mm Blue Carbon (1995) · Patek Philippe Nautilus 38 mm Slate Sapphire (1964) · Patek Philippe Nautilus 36 mm Meteorite Grade (1986)
Brand history
Patek Philippe has spent more than 187 years refining a single idea: a watch should outlive its owner. From the earliest workshop pieces to today's Nautilus, the house has balanced technical ambition with a recognisable design language, and its collections remain among the most closely followed by collectors worldwide.
Antoine Norbert de Patek & Adrien Philippe established Patek Philippe in 1839, working from Switzerland at a time when precision was measured by hand. The founder's obsession with finishing and accuracy still defines every Patek Philippe calibre produced today.
Historical milestones
1839
Antoine Norbert de Patek & Adrien Philippe founds Patek Philippe in Switzerland.
1879
Patek Philippe earns its first international recognition for precision timekeeping.
1969
The quartz era forces Patek Philippe to redefine mechanical watchmaking.
1990
Patek Philippe enters the modern collector market with its signature lines.
2024
Patek Philippe continues to produce Nautilus, Aquanaut, Calatrava and other icons in limited numbers.