Watch Paparazzi

Golfer Don Scotty Cameron spotted wearing Patek Philippe

Scotty Cameron, the California-based putter designer behind some of the most coveted short-game tools in professional golf, was recently spotted wearing a stainless steel Patek Philippe Nautilus Chronograph ref. 5980/1A-014 — a watch that shares more than a little DNA with his own reputation for limited, obsessively finished products.

The Patek Philippe Nautilus Chronograph 5980/1A was introduced in 2006 to mark the 30th anniversary of the Nautilus, itself born from the drafting table of Gérald Genta. The 5980 represented a significant technical milestone: it was the first Nautilus to house a chronograph complication, and Patek Philippe developed the caliber CH 28-520 C specifically for the purpose. The movement features a column wheel, a lateral clutch, and a flyback function — all within a case measuring 40.5mm in steel, kept to a surprisingly wearable 13.0mm thickness.

The specific variant Cameron wears, the 5980/1A-014 with its black ridged dial, was only available between 2010 and 2014 before being quietly discontinued. That brevity of production window matters enormously to collectors. Where the blue and grey dials of the 5980 family already command serious attention, the black dial occupies a particularly narrow niche — produced in smaller numbers, discontinued earlier, and less frequently seen on the secondary market. The horizontal embossed pattern on the dial echoes the integrated bracelet's links, a design detail that rewards close inspection.

Scotty Cameron's business is itself built on exactly this kind of scarcity logic. His putters — especially limited Titleist collaborations and circle-T releases — trade at multiples of retail on the secondary market, driven by craftsmanship, finish quality, and controlled supply. A man who understands the collector economy as well as Cameron does is unlikely to be wearing his watch by accident.

On the grey market, the Patek Philippe Nautilus Chronograph ref. 5980/1A-014 commands a substantial premium over its original retail price, reflecting both the broader Nautilus fever of recent years and the added scarcity of the discontinued black dial variant. For collectors, it represents a convergence of horological substance and genuine rarity — the kind of watch that justifies its own mythology.