Watch Paparazzi

Royal Abdul Mateen spotted wearing Patek Philippe

Prince Abdul Mateen of Brunei, the fourth son of Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, has long occupied a rare position in watch culture: a royal with genuine horological taste rather than merely inherited access. His latest sighting places on his wrist one of the most talked-about stainless steel sports watches of the modern era — the Patek Philippe Nautilus reference 5711/1A-014, distinguished by its now-legendary sunburst olive green dial.

Patek Philippe introduced the 5711/1A-014 in January 2021 as the closing chapter of the 5711 series, a reference that had defined the luxury steel sports watch category since its relaunch in 2006. The olive green dial — a warm, complex shade that shifts between military green and deep khaki depending on the light — was a deliberate departure from the reference's traditional blue. Beneath the horizontally embossed dial and applied baton hour markers sits the Calibre 26-330 S C, an in-house self-winding movement offering a 45-hour power reserve, beating at 28,800 vph, and certified by Patek's own Patek Philippe Seal. The 40mm stainless steel case retains Gérald Genta's iconic integrated bracelet and porthole-inspired octagonal bezel, unchanged in proportion since the original 3700 of 1976.

From a collector standpoint, the 5711/1A-014 occupies territory almost without precedent. Patek Philippe announced simultaneously that it would discontinue the entire 5711 line — partly in response to Rolex severing ties with retailer Bucherer — making this olive dial variant the literal last of the line. Allocation was vanishingly small, waitlists meaningless, and authorized dealer acquisition effectively impossible for anyone outside the most established client relationships. The reference became a case study in how scarcity, brand equity, and collector psychology interact.

Abdul Mateen's watch credentials are well established. The Prince has previously been spotted in references spanning Rolex, Richard Mille, and high-complication Pateks, but wearing the 5711/1A-014 signals something specific: an appreciation for the intersection of restraint and rarity. It is, despite its market value, still a 40mm steel sports watch — and that understatement is precisely the point.

At retail, the Patek Philippe Nautilus 5711/1A-014 carried a list price of approximately $37,800. On the secondary market, the reference has traded consistently between $500,000 and $650,000, with strong examples at auction achieving figures that embarrass comparable complications from rival manufactures. It remains one of the clearest arguments that brand stewardship and deliberate scarcity outperform any marketing strategy the industry has yet devised.