Footballer Erton Fejzullahu spotted wearing a Patek Philippe

Beijing Guoan's Erton Fejzullahu was recently photographed wearing a Patek Philippe Nautilus 5711/1A-010, the stainless steel blue-dial variant that has become one of the defining collector pieces of the 21st century. The sighting adds the Kosovo international to a long list of footballers and athletes who have gravitated toward Gerald Genta's iconic porthole-inspired design.

First introduced in 1976, the Nautilus was Genta's bold answer to the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak — a luxury sports watch in steel at a time when steel was considered beneath a prestige Swiss maison. The 5711 generation, launched in 2006, refined the formula with a 40mm case, the in-house Calibre 324 S C automatic movement, and that unmistakable horizontally embossed blue dial with applied hour markers. The movement delivers approximately 45 hours of power reserve and beats at 28,800 vph, a technically accomplished workhorse dressed in one of watchmaking's most recognisable cases.

The 5711/1A-010 carries enormous collector weight precisely because Patek Philippe announced its discontinuation in January 2021. The final delivery to retailers — a white-dial commemorative piece — only amplified demand for the blue-dial standard reference. Authorized dealer waiting lists had already stretched to years; after discontinuation, the grey market responded with prices that bear little resemblance to the original retail figure.

Fejzullahu, who has played across Sweden, Germany, and China during a well-travelled career, has maintained a high profile both on the pitch and off it. The Nautilus sits comfortably within the wardrobe of the modern professional footballer — recognisable enough to signal serious horological intent without the overt flash of a bejewelled tourbillon.

At its official retail price the 5711/1A-010 was already a significant purchase. On the secondary market, however, the reference trades at multiples of that figure, with clean examples in full set consistently commanding prices that place it among the most valuable production watches available. For a discontinued reference with this level of cultural cachet, values have shown remarkable resilience.