Thierry Stern, Owner and Director of Patek Philippe. Source: François Wavre / Lundi 13 via Bilanz
Schadenfreude is a German word that combines schaden, which means “damage,” and freude, which means “joy.” Thus, schadenfreude is the emotional experience of pleasure in response to another’s misfortune. According to Britannica, some psychologists describe a category of schadenfreude in the context of justice, where watch enthusiasts people feel pleasure when they observe punishment in which someone “gets what they deserve. Okay, “deserve” may be a strong word in the context of watches, but given the secretive world of luxury watchmaking, it is extremely rare that the greater audience gets to feel like they know enough to impose judicial schadenfreude.
A brand, Patek Philippe, and its owner and director, Thierry Stern, have been rather keen to provide plentiful information to turn the watch-hobbyist public against them over the years. And Mr. Stern’s response to the community’s powerful and admittedly harsh reaction to his new Cubitus watch collection has all but underscored the greater issue at hand. Thierry Stern’s Cubitus presentation and subsequent response is exactly why people like to see giants fall.
Brief Introduction to the Cubitus Conundrum
In case you were under a rock the last two weeks, a quick summary: Geneva-based luxury watchmaker Patek Philippe announced that it would discontinue the steel Nautilus in early 2021 — Ariel praised Mr. Stern and his company for doing so. Then, following nearly four years of guesses and expectations, Patek Philippe launched its Cubitus watch collection on October 17, 2024, days a Fortune magazine advertisement was leaked and prematurely revealed the watch to the world. It was a perplexing discovery — many, including us, seriously considered the chance that the whole thing was a hoax. Why? Because the whole design was so, ahem, unorthodox. Yes, it was new, but it was so heavily reliant on the Nautilus that, in today’s world of fake images and fake (and “homage“) watches, the Cubitus, at first sight, could have been the work of an Instagram account desperate for attention, or one of the countless fakes and homages based on the Nautilus produced by mushroom brands and counterfeiters who have gotten good at balancing right on the edge of infringing intellectual property.
We could dwell on why the design of the Cubitus caused such an uproar, but at the end of the day, we can say two things with certainty. First, the design is very much a subjective matter and there have been those among the thousands of commenters who said they do like it. Second, the Cubitus somehow managed to trigger the majority of watch enthusiasts with its shape and proportions, and its simultaneous reliance on and defiance of the Nautilus. Fitting a round movement to a square case at $41,243 USD in steel, and $61,275 USD in two-tone, certainly did not help change the minds of those who looked deeper than the surface. The $88,378 USD platinum version shocked with its quirky dial layout and high price for a relatively low-complexity movement in a watch without a precious metal bracelet.
Thierry Stern studied in Geneva at the École d’Horlogerie de Genève. Source: SwissInfo; Frederic Aranda
The Giant Presents Itself
Okay, with the context out of the way, let us now discover what it might have been — beyond the looks and value proposition — that triggered such a remarkably powerful response from a global community of watch enthusiasts (including some verifiable and many self-claimed Patek Philippe watch owners).
Put simply, it is ego. It is rare — and arguably pointless — to feel schadenfreude when the little guy fails. A new brand, even if its first design is objectively bad, that is called out by the community, is hardly ever “celebrated” for its public humiliation, and the waves it might have set off with its first try die as fast as its inaugural collection.
It is equally safe to say that Patek Philippe and Mr. Stern have positioned themselves into the top tier of watchmakers with great confidence and utmost clarity. The company’s 1996 slogan, “You never actually own a Patek Philippe. You merely look after it for the next generation,” is etched into global consciousness, and since he took the helm from his father in 2009, Thierry Stern has been rather outspoken about the values of his company — as well as his personal talents and contributions.
Patek Philippe has introduced a bevy of unquestionably impressive and commercially successful new pieces — including incredibly complicated watches (such as the 5303R Grand Complication), well-judged extensions of its existing collections (like these three chronographs), and viral sensations (with its Tiffany & Co. 5711). That said, it has also struggled to practice self-restraint when adding new references to many of its bread-and-butter collections.
Importantly, over the last 15 years, it’s been difficult to avoid the image of a remarkably confident Stern, who has placed himself well past even the self-proclaimed primus inter pares of luxury watchmakers. Whether in German or English, in writing or speaking, one could not dodge a borderline smug pose, an upturned nose, and a preposterous quote of confidence or self-aggrandizement.
To make sure this is more than a hunch, I took the time and effort to find tangible examples of the tone and attitude that might have put the watch enthusiast community on edge. Just five examples:
- First from Mr. Stern’s interview with Bilanz: “I’ve been responsible for creation for a long time. I’m good at it without really having a clue, I never went to design school. But I grew up with the products and I have a strength in that. Why? I don’t know, it’s always been easy for me to have ideas and go into the details.”
- Then, “I don’t go to clients with designs and ask them for their opinion. Never. I don’t work with external designers either. We’ve done that, but it never worked. Also, I really have endless ideas. We recently had a meeting that resulted in 20 different models.”
- Second, from Mr. Stern’s chat with Swisswatches: “I know what I should select to create a strong new watch;” and “I’ve been created, trained, and mastered by the best in the industry to design watches. If I have a good feeling about it, it should work.”
- Fourth, his talk with Swissinfo: “I’ve worked for Patek Philippe for 35 years and am, by far, the watchmaker who knows his customers best. I challenge any other watchmaking boss – or market manager for that matter – to contradict me.”
- Last, wherever you look, there is also a lot of “I decided,” “my watch,” “my own design language,” “my own design,” “my idea,” “my square watches” — which, to Mr. Stern’s credit, suggests ownership of his ideas, even if that tone is rarely encountered from the most powerful in the world of watches, automotive, or tech.
For what it’s worth, I cannot recall nor did I have any success in finding a quote from Flavio Manzoni (Ferrari), Dieter Rams (“Ten Principles of Good Design”), Jony Ive (Apple), or, for the watch world, Gerald Genta (Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, IWC, Genta, etc.) or Sylvain Berneron (BMW, Richemont, Breitling, Berneron), where they spoke of themselves in such a self-aggrandizing way.
It is difficult to overstate the effects of this approach on public expectations, acceptance, good humor, and patience over the course of 15 years. It is probably safe to say it fosters none of them. Whether you are humble or competitive in your nature, still on your quest to success or with great accomplishments to your name, it is part of our human nature to be triggered by someone else’s confidence, regardless of the who may possess it. The race-car driver who speaks most highly of himself gets the loudest roar from the stands when he spins out of control in a cloud of smoke.
A bejegyzés megtekintése az Instagramon
And The Giant Tumbles
Arguably, the best summary of the public’s reaction is to be found under the Instagram post on Mr. Stern’s response to Cubitus critics from @timetidewatches, where, at the time of writing, some 1,409 comments demonstrate clearly how people feel — not about the Cubitus, but about Stern’s response to the community’s take on the Cubitus. A quote from the aforementioned Bilanz interview is prominently highlighted on the image: “The haters are mostly people who have never had a Patek and never will. So that doesn’t bother me” — and it goes on to say: “(…) and I’m confident about the Cubitus because I have a good nose and a lot of professionals around me who told me that it will work.”
Statistically, Mr. Stern is correct: Many of the commenters won’t ever own a Patek Philippe. That said, statistically, many of those who already do might not want to associate themselves with such an attitude. Yes, a five-figure watch in and of itself is broadcasting the message that “I have this, and you do not” — but many among the wealthy have long since understood the art of snubbing the plebs in ways that separate them with a bulletproof glass wall, and not a spiky fence. Even in a position of power, actively poking the masses rarely qualifies as an ingenious long-term strategy, and “divide and conquer” only works if the division occurs in the masses, and not between you and them.
The takeaway message, by now, has hopefully taken shape: If you increase your stature to gigantic proportions, every move you make attracts that much more attention and is that much easier to scrutinize in detail. After all, a giant falling over is a lot more spectacular than an ant — which explains why the watch world’s most successful brands strive to communicate about their perpetual quest for excellence, as opposed to overconfidently stating that they have already succeeded at every level of their trade.