Footballer Declan Rice spotted wearing a Patek Philippe

Declan Rice was photographed boarding a flight to Portugal with his teammates, and sharp-eyed watch spotters immediately locked onto the integrated steel bracelet of a Patek Philippe Nautilus 5711/1A-010 sitting on his wrist. It is not the flashiest watch in a footballer's locker room — but it is almost certainly the hardest to obtain, and that distinction speaks volumes about Rice's collecting instincts.

The Nautilus 5711/1A-010 is defined by its iconic porthole-shaped case, designed by Gérald Genta and introduced by Patek Philippe in 1976. The reference 5711 generation, launched in 2006, refined that original silhouette into a 40 mm stainless steel case paired with a horizontally embossed blue dial whose gradient shifts subtly under different light sources. Inside beats Calibre 26-330 S C, a self-winding movement beating at 28,800 vph with a 45-hour power reserve and a date complication at three o'clock — slim, polished, and achingly well-finished through the sapphire caseback.

Patek Philippe announced the discontinuation of the 5711 in stainless steel in January 2021, citing a desire to move the Nautilus line forward. The move was widely interpreted as a strategic reset, but the market reaction was immediate and severe: waiting lists that had already stretched years simply evaporated, replaced by grey-market premiums that made the watch inaccessible to all but the most committed collectors. The 5711/1A-010 now occupies a canonical position in the pantheon of 21st-century watch collecting, alongside references like the Royal Oak 15202 and the Daytona 6263.

Declan Rice, currently one of English football's most technically accomplished midfielders following his record-breaking move to Arsenal, has demonstrated a consistent interest in serious horology. Spotting a discontinued Patek Philippe Nautilus on his wrist — rather than a diamond-set fashion piece — signals genuine engagement with the collector market rather than a stylist's shortcut.

On the open market, the Patek Philippe Nautilus 5711/1A-010 trades firmly above its original retail price of approximately $34,893 USD. Grey-market valuations currently sit around $110,000 USD, reflecting sustained global demand and the watch's permanent discontinuation. For a piece that retailed well under $35,000, that trajectory is extraordinary — and shows no meaningful sign of softening.