Watch Paparazzi

Entrepreneur Alan Sugar spotted wearing Patek Philippe

Lord Alan Sugar, the self-made British billionaire and face of the BBC's long-running business reality show The Apprentice, was recently photographed sporting one of the most recognizable — and most sought-after — wristwatches in the world: the Patek Philippe Nautilus reference 5711/1A-010 in stainless steel with its signature blue gradient dial.

The Nautilus 5711/1A-010 is the definitive expression of Gérald Genta's 1976 porthole-inspired design, which Patek Philippe originally pitched as a luxury sports watch at a then-shocking price point for steel. The 5711 generation, introduced in 2006, measures 40mm in stainless steel with a 8.3mm-thin case and houses the caliber 315 SC — a self-winding movement with a 45-hour power reserve, running at 21,600 vph and decorated to Patek's exacting Geneva Seal standards. The horizontally embossed blue dial, applied baton hour markers, and integrated bracelet remain unchanged in their elegance, which is precisely the point.

From a collector standpoint, the 5711/1A-010 occupies rare ground. Patek Philippe announced the discontinuation of the entire 5711 line in January 2021, citing a desire to give the Nautilus room to evolve. The market reacted immediately and dramatically. What had already been trading at multiples of retail became a full-blown phenomenon. The reference is now considered a blue-chip horological asset — liquid, globally recognized, and virtually impossible to acquire through authorized dealers at list price.

For Sugar, a man whose public persona is built on hard-nosed financial acumen and an instinct for value, the 5711/1A-010 is an entirely coherent choice. Lord Sugar built his fortune through Amstrad and decades of shrewd investment, and his watch selections tend to reflect both substance and status — no novelty pieces, no fashion-driven impulse buys. The Nautilus says: I know what holds value.

At UK retail, the 5711/1A-010 was listed at approximately £22,820 before discontinuation — a price almost entirely academic given market conditions. On the secondary market, clean examples regularly trade between $55,000 and $75,000 USD depending on condition, box-and-papers, and provenance, with exceptional examples pushing higher. Few modern watches have demonstrated this level of sustained grey-market premium.