Footballer Karim Benzema spotted wearing a Patek Philippe

Arriving in London ahead of a high-stakes Champions League match, Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema stepped off his transport wearing one of the most talked-about watches in modern horology: the Patek Philippe Nautilus Reference 5711/1A-010 in stainless steel with its signature blue horizontal-stripe dial. Low-key in deportment, astronomical in value — it is a combination Benzema appears entirely comfortable with.

The Patek Philippe Nautilus 5711/1A-010 is powered by the manufacture's Calibre 26-330 S C, a self-winding movement beating at 28,800 vph with a power reserve of approximately 45 hours. The 40mm stainless steel case retains Gérald Genta's original 1976 porthole silhouette — octagonal bezel, horizontally embossed blue dial, integrated bracelet — scaled and refined through successive generations. Water resistance sits at 120 metres. At just 8.3mm thick, it wears with remarkable discretion for a watch carrying this much cultural weight.

Patek Philippe formally discontinued the 5711/1A-010 in January 2021, announcing its retirement with a final limited olive-green dial edition. The decision transformed an already-scarce reference into an outright collector obsession. Official retail had sat at approximately $34,893 USD for years, a price that bore no relationship to market reality even before discontinuation. The 5711 series had been subject to multi-year waiting lists at authorised dealers throughout the 2010s, and the retirement notice pushed grey-market premiums to levels that made Rolex Daytona flippers look modest.

Benzema has long demonstrated a serious interest in high-end watchmaking, and the 5711/1A-010 is a logical centrepiece for any footballer-collector's portfolio. It reads as understated in a context where Richard Mille skeletons dominate pitchside cameras — which, for a watch of this provenance, says something about confidence in the piece itself rather than its visibility.

On the current grey market, a clean 5711/1A-010 with box and papers commands north of $120,000 USD, with strong examples pushing higher depending on condition and provenance. As Patek transitions the Nautilus line toward the 5726 and new-generation references, the 5711/1A-010 continues to appreciate. For a watch that retailed under $35,000, that trajectory is extraordinary — and shows no meaningful signs of reversing.