Watch Paparazzi

Designer Mariam AlYassi spotted wearing Patek Philippe

Mariam AlYassi, the Emirati designer who operates under the creative handle @mim_design, was recently spotted wearing the Patek Philippe Nautilus Chronograph 5980/1AR-001 — a reference that sits at the technical and aesthetic peak of what the Nautilus line has ever offered. The sighting places a genuinely serious collector piece on the wrist of a design professional whose eye for material and proportion is, by trade, exacting.

The 5980/1AR-001 is built around the calibre CH 28-520 C, a self-winding flyback chronograph movement produced entirely in-house at Patek Philippe. The flyback complication allows the chronograph to be reset and restarted with a single push of the lower pusher, rather than the conventional stop-reset-start sequence. The movement beats at 28,800 vph, offers a power reserve of approximately 45 hours, and carries Patek's Gyromax balance wheel with Spiromax balance spring — both proprietary innovations. The case measures 40.5 mm across in the brand's signature blend of brushed and polished steel, with the bezel and crown guards rendered in 18-carat rose gold. That two-tone construction, referenced as 1AR in Patek's nomenclature, gives the watch a warmth that the all-steel 5980/1A-001 deliberately withholds.

The dial is an unmistakable Nautilus blue — horizontal embossed finish — with the flyback chronograph seconds hand sweeping the full dial and the 30-minute counter positioned at 6 o'clock rather than the more conventional 3 o'clock or subsidiary placement. A date window sits at 3 o'clock, integrated with characteristic Patek neatness. The 5980 was introduced in 2006 and ran in production until its discontinuation around 2021, making surviving examples increasingly sought after on the secondary market.

For collectors, the 5980/1AR-001 occupies a specific and coveted niche: it pairs the Nautilus's most complex movement with arguably its most elegant case configuration. Two-tone references in the Nautilus family have historically appreciated more temperately than their all-steel counterparts, but the 5980's inherent complication and limited production window have kept secondary market interest firm.

AlYassi's choice communicates something beyond fashion adjacency — the 5980/1AR-001 at $67,000 retail is a watch bought for what it does and how it is made, not for the name alone.