Watch Paparazzi

Footballer Christian Eriksen spotted wearing Patek Philippe

Christian Eriksen, the Danish playmaker who built his reputation threading impossible passes through Premier League defenses for Tottenham Hotspur, was recently photographed wearing a Patek Philippe Nautilus 5712/1A — a stainless steel complication piece that sits at the very top of most serious collectors' want lists.

The Patek Philippe Nautilus 5712/1A is built around the Calibre 240 PS IRM C LU, a micro-rotor automatic movement measuring just 3.88mm thick. Beyond its slender profile, the movement delivers a moon phase display accurate to one day's deviation over 122 years, a power reserve indicator, and a sweep seconds hand — all housed within the 40mm horizontal-brushed and polished steel case that Gerald Genta sketched on a placemat in 1974. The integrated steel bracelet with its distinctive step-link construction remains one of the most recognized profiles in horology.

Within the Nautilus family, the 5712 reference occupies a special position. While the 5711 draws the most headlines as the clean three-hander, the 5712 is the complication variant that serious collectors pursue with equal — if not greater — intensity. The combination of a genuinely useful moon phase with a readable power reserve, all in a sports-luxury case that works equally well in a boardroom or a stadium box, gives it a versatility few complications watches can match. Patek Philippe discontinued the stainless steel 5712/1A in 2021 alongside the legendary 5711/1A, instantly freezing its place in horological history.

Eriksen's taste in watches reflects a broader pattern among elite European footballers who have gravitated toward restrained Swiss classics rather than flashier alternatives. Patek Philippe, and the Nautilus line in particular, has become a marker of considered horological taste in football circles — a statement that communicates without shouting.

On the secondary market, the Patek Philippe Nautilus 5712/1A commands a substantial premium over its last retail price following the reference's discontinuation. Demand from collectors who missed their chance at authorized dealers has pushed grey-market valuations well into six figures. For Eriksen, the 5712/1A is not merely a watch — it is a piece of finished steel that appreciates as reliably as his passing range.