Watch Paparazzi

Entrepreneur Guram Gvasalia spotted wearing Patek Philippe

Guram Gvasalia, the Georgian entrepreneur who built Vetements into one of fashion's most provocative and commercially savvy labels, was recently spotted wearing a piece that speaks a very different visual language from his brand's deliberately transgressive aesthetic: the Patek Philippe Grand Complications Perpetual Calendar Reference 5140G in 18K white gold with a white dial. Understated to the untrained eye, it is anything but.

The Patek Philippe 5140G is powered by the Caliber 240 Q, an ultra-thin automatic movement measuring just 3.88mm in height. The peripheral rotor — a signature Patek engineering solution that maximises dial visibility and movement architecture — winds the mainspring without occupying the centre of the movement. Despite its slimness, the caliber delivers a full perpetual calendar: day, date, month, four-digit year display, leap-year indicator, and a moon phase accurate to one day's deviation every 122 years. The case itself measures 37.2mm in diameter, placing it firmly in the tradition of the dressed, wrist-conscious gentleman's watch.

First introduced in 2000 as a spiritual successor to the legendary Reference 3940, the 5140 series ran for roughly two decades before Patek Philippe quietly discontinued it. The white gold variant with white dial — the 5140G-001 — is among the most sought-after configurations, pairing the cool luminosity of the metal with an opaline dial that renders the perpetual calendar's multiple apertures with exceptional legibility. Collectors regard the 5140 as a high-water mark in proportional watchmaking: everything the Grand Complications department does, contained within a case that does not intimidate the wrist.

Gvasalia's choice is consistent with a certain strain of fashion-industry connoisseurship — one that prizes depth of craft over conspicuous branding. Where peers might reach for a Richard Mille or a Nautilus, the 5140G signals a deliberate fluency in horological history.

On the grey market, discontinued 5140G references have appreciated meaningfully since production ceased. Examples in excellent condition regularly transact above the last known list price, which stood at approximately £68,000 in the UK market. For a perpetual calendar of this mechanical and aesthetic caliber in white gold, current secondary-market demand reflects both the reference's discontinuation and its enduring reputation among serious collectors.