Watch Paparazzi

Entrepreneur Alessandro Squarzi spotted wearing Patek Philippe

Alessandro Squarzi, the Milan-based entrepreneur behind Fortela and AS65, was recently photographed wearing a Patek Philippe Nautilus Annual Calendar in stainless steel — reference 5726/1A-014 — its blue sunburst dial catching the kind of attention that confirms why this particular configuration has become one of the most coveted complications in the Nautilus family.

The 5726/1A-014 measures 40.5mm and runs on Patek Philippe calibre 324 S QA LU 24H, a self-winding movement beating at 28,800 vph with a minimum 45-hour power reserve. The annual calendar mechanism — one of Patek's signature intellectual contributions to watchmaking — requires resetting just once a year, at the end of February, because the module correctly identifies every 30- and 31-day month. Add a precision moonphase display accurate to one day in 122 years, a 24-hour day/night indicator, and retrograde date hand, and you have a genuinely complex movement dressed in the Nautilus's deceptively sporty 5.35mm-thick case. The steel bracelet with its alternating brushed and polished links remains one of the most copied designs in the industry.

From a collector's perspective, the 5726 occupies a specific and well-defended position in the Nautilus hierarchy. It sits above the three-hand 5711 in terms of mechanical sophistication, yet shares its steel-on-steel DNA, making it the natural next step for enthusiasts who want complication without a case material change. The reference has been in production since 2011, and secondary market demand has never meaningfully softened.

Squarzi's personal style consistently mixes workwear heritage with precision tailoring — a sensibility that maps directly onto the 5726/1A-014's own tension between sportswear aesthetics and haute horlogerie mechanics. It is a watch that rewards scrutiny without demanding it, which suits a creative director's public profile perfectly.

At an official retail price of approximately €42,360, the 5726/1A-014 is nominally accessible but functionally impossible to purchase at list price from an authorised dealer without an established client relationship. On the grey market, examples routinely trade at significant premiums, reflecting sustained collector appetite and constrained supply — a pattern showing no sign of reversing.