Watch Paparazzi

Entrepreneur Nusret Gökçe Saltbae spotted wearing Patek Philippe

Nusret Gökçe, the Turkish chef and entrepreneur whose salt-sprinkling theatrics made him a global viral sensation, was recently photographed wearing the Patek Philippe Nautilus ref. 5980/1400G Chronograph — a diamond-encrusted white gold piece that retails at $600,000 and commands well over a million dollars on the secondary market. For a man whose restaurants charge hundreds of dollars for a single wagyu steak, the choice tracks perfectly.

The Nautilus 5980 line was introduced in 2006 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Gerald Genta's original Nautilus design, itself launched in 1976. The ref. 5980 added a fully integrated chronograph to the Nautilus architecture — a considerable engineering challenge given the case proportions. The 5980/1400G sits at the pinnacle of the family: a 40 mm 18-carat white gold case and matching integrated bracelet set with 893 brilliant-cut diamonds and 182 baguette-cut diamonds, with baguettes also serving as the nine hour markers on the gradient grey dial. The stone-setting work alone represents hundreds of hours of atelier labour.

At the heart of the watch beats Calibre CH 28-520 C, Patek Philippe's self-winding flyback chronograph movement, offering a 45-hour power reserve. The flyback function — allowing the chronograph to be reset and restarted with a single pusher action — is a complication traditionally associated with aviation timing and adds genuine technical substance beneath the jewellery exterior. The movement is finished to the Patek Philippe Seal standard throughout.

For collectors, the 5980/1400G occupies a specific and deliberate niche: it is unambiguously a statement piece rather than a tool watch, yet it carries the same serious movement as the plainer steel references. Patek produces these highly gem-set variants in very limited numbers, and they tend to surface at auction or in private sales at significant premiums, as the current grey-market estimate of approximately $1,150,000 confirms.

Gökçe has built a social-media empire across his Nusr-Et steakhouse chain, accumulating tens of millions of followers who expect visual excess. The Patek Philippe Nautilus ref. 5980/1400G — diamond-set, white gold, seven figures on the wrist — delivers exactly that, while sitting on one of horology's most legitimate sporting chronograph platforms.