Watch Paparazzi

Singer Will Pan spotted wearing Patek Philippe

Will Pan, one of Taiwan's most recognisable Mandopop artists, was recently spotted on the wrist with what appears to be the Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime Reference 5175R-001 — a watch so rare that its public appearance on any wrist is a genuine news event in the horological world.

The Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime 5175R-001 was created specifically to celebrate the manufacture's 175th anniversary in 2014. The rose gold case measures 47.4mm and features a reversible construction, presenting two distinct dials: the front hosts a grande sonnerie and petite sonnerie display alongside a perpetual calendar, while the caseback side reveals an alarm and additional time displays. In total the watch incorporates 20 complications, driven by the manually wound Calibre GS AL 36-750 QIS FUS IRM, a movement comprising 1,366 components. Development took Patek Philippe's craftsmen approximately eight years. It remains the most complicated wristwatch Patek Philippe has ever placed on the wrist.

From a collector standpoint, the Reference 5175R-001 occupies a category of its own. Patek Philippe produced just seven rose gold examples for retail sale at launch — a number so deliberately restricted that standard allocation channels were essentially irrelevant. The watch was not simply purchased; it was offered. That scarcity, combined with the technical achievement it represents, means the 5175R instantly became a benchmark piece, referenced in the same breath as the 1932 Henry Graves Supercomplication pocket watch that Patek Philippe sold at Sotheby's for over $24 million in 2014 — the same year the Grandmaster Chime debuted.

Will Pan has cultivated a reputation as a serious watch collector within Asian entertainment circles, where appreciation for ultra-high-end Swiss watchmaking has grown substantially over the past decade. Seeing the 5175R-001 on a working artist rather than behind a museum glass case is a reminder that these watches, however stratospheric in value, are built to be worn.

On the market, the Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime 5175R-001 has traded at auction well above its already extraordinary original list price. A white gold variant, Reference 5175G-001, realised CHF 31 million at a 2019 Only Watch charity auction — the highest price ever achieved by a wristwatch at auction at that time. Grey-market transactions for the rose gold retail version remain opaque given the near-total absence of supply, but informed estimates place current value in excess of $5 million USD.