Footballer Karim Benzema spotted wearing a Patek Philippe

Karim Benzema was photographed heading back to Real Madrid training with a Patek PhilippeAquanaut Reference 5167A on his wrist — a watch that, for all its understated appearance, carries enormous weight in collector circles. The sighting is unsurprising for a player of Benzema's caliber, but the choice of reference speaks to genuine taste rather than simple trophy buying.

The Patek Philippe Aquanaut 5167A is built around a 40mm stainless steel case with the model's signature rounded octagonal bezel and embossed 'Tropical' composite strap in black. Water-resistant to 120 meters, it houses Patek's in-house Caliber 324 S C — a self-winding movement with a 45-hour power reserve, operating at 28,800 vph, and decorated to the manufacture's exacting standards. The olive-green or black embossed dial, with its 'Aquanaut' texture pattern, is one of the most recognisable faces in modern watchmaking. The 5167A was introduced in 2007 as the larger successor to the original 5065A, and it has been the backbone of the Aquanaut line ever since.

From a collector's standpoint, the 5167A in stainless steel is a genuine unicorn at authorized dealers. Patek Philippe produces the Aquanaut in deliberately limited numbers, and the steel configuration has become a benchmark piece — the kind of watch that serious collectors point to when explaining why the Aquanaut deserves its place alongside the Nautilus 5711 in the Patek sports watch pantheon. Its relative compactness at 40mm also gives it a versatility the larger Nautilus sometimes lacks.

Benzema has long gravitated toward high-horology pieces rather than the diamond-set showpieces favored by some of his contemporaries. The Aquanaut 5167A fits a footballer returning to the training ground — robust, water-resistant, and wearable — yet the movement inside and the name on the dial leave no ambiguity about its provenance. For the 2022 Ballon d'Or winner, a watch that quietly announces serious credentials is entirely on-brand.

On the grey market, the Patek Philippe Aquanaut 5167A commands a consistent premium, typically trading between $55,000 and $70,000 USD depending on condition and provenance — a substantial multiple over the UK list price of approximately £15,110. That gap reflects genuine demand and structural scarcity, not speculation alone, cementing the 5167A's reputation as one of the most rational grey-market premiums in modern watchmaking.