Watch Paparazzi

Footballer Fabio Cannavaro spotted wearing Patek Philippe

Fabio Cannavaro, Italy's World Cup-winning captain and one of the most decorated defenders in football history, was recently spotted with a Patek Philippe Nautilus Perpetual Calendar ref. 5740G on his wrist — a watch that commands as much respect in horological circles as Cannavaro once commanded on the pitch.

Introduced in 2018, the Patek Philippe 5740G represented a watershed moment for the Nautilus collection. Until its arrival, the Nautilus had remained largely the domain of time-only and relatively simple complication references. The 5740G changed that narrative entirely, becoming the first Nautilus to carry a perpetual calendar — a complication that automatically accounts for months of varying length and leap years without manual correction until the year 2100. The movement inside is caliber 240 Q, a micro-rotor perpetual calendar ebauche that measures a remarkably thin 3.28mm in height, allowing the 5740G to sit at just 8.42mm thick despite its sophisticated mechanics. The 40mm octagonal case in 18-carat white gold is finished in Patek's characteristic mix of polished and satin-brushed surfaces, and the gradient blue dial — shifting from deep midnight at the centre to a lighter horizon tone at the periphery — is widely considered one of the most beautiful dials in contemporary watchmaking.

From a collector's standpoint, the 5740G occupies rarefied territory. It was discontinued in 2021 after a relatively brief production run, replaced by the updated 5740/1G with a revised dial. That short window of availability, combined with its status as a horological first within the Nautilus family, has made the original 5740G a priority target for serious collectors. Waitlists at authorised dealers were effectively non-existent for most buyers — allocation went almost exclusively to the most loyal Patek clients.

Cannavaro's taste here is telling. The Ballon d'Or winner has long shown a preference for watches that carry genuine mechanical substance rather than simply overt luxury signalling — and the 5740G delivers precisely that. It is a watch for someone who understands what they are wearing.

With an official retail price of $126,000, the Patek Philippe Nautilus ref. 5740G was already a significant investment at launch. On the secondary market, original 5740G examples now regularly trade between $180,000 and $240,000 depending on condition and provenance, reflecting both the discontinued status and the enduring prestige of the Nautilus perpetual calendar lineage.