Singer Ed Sheeran spotted wearing a Patek Philippe

Ed Sheeran was recently photographed wearing a Patek Philippe Nautilus 5711/1R-001 in 18k rose gold, the warm-metal iteration of what many consider the defining sports-luxury watch of the modern era. The sighting adds the Grammy-winning singer-songwriter to a short but distinguished list of public figures who have chosen the rose gold Nautilus over its perpetually waitlisted stainless-steel counterpart.

The Nautilus line was conceived by Gérald Genta and introduced by Patek Philippe in 1976, drawing its architectural language directly from the round porthole of an ocean liner. The 5711 generation — launched in 2006 and discontinued in 2021 — refined those proportions to a 40mm case with a 8.3mm profile, making it genuinely wearable despite the breadth of its integrated bracelet. The 5711/1R-001 executes that blueprint in 18k rose gold, fitted with a light-to-dark brown gradated dial and gold applied hour markers that shift beautifully under changing light. The movement inside is Patek's Caliber 324 S C, a self-winding manufacture ebauche beating at 28,800 vph with a 45-hour power reserve, decorated to the standards of the Patek Philippe Seal.

From a collector standpoint, the 5711/1R occupies a peculiar and privileged position. While the reference 5711/1A in steel became the poster child for grey-market inflation — at one point trading at multiples of ten times retail — the rose gold variant attracted a quieter but equally committed audience. Its discontinuation alongside the steel model in 2021, when Thierry Stern announced the line's end to preserve its integrity, only sealed its status as a closed chapter in Patek's modern history.

Sheeran has long shown a preference for timepieces that blend technical credibility with wearability rather than overt ostentation. The 5711/1R-001 suits that sensibility precisely — it reads as a brown-dialed dress watch at a glance yet carries the pedigree and secondary-market weight of a true grail piece.

On the current grey market, the Patek Philippe Nautilus 5711/1R-001 trades at approximately $220,000 USD, a substantial premium reflecting both the reference's closed production status and the enduring global appetite for anything bearing the Nautilus name and a Patek movement.