Watch Paparazzi

Football manager Simone Inzaghi spotted wearing Audemars Piguet

Simone Inzaghi, the former Lazio striker turned one of Serie A's most tactically astute managers, was recently spotted wearing an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Chronograph in stainless steel — a sighting that briefly ignited significant collector debate before a closer examination changed the story entirely.

The reference 25860ST is one of the most mechanically compelling iterations of the Royal Oak Chronograph lineage. At its heart beats the calibre 2385, a self-winding integrated chronograph movement featuring a column wheel and lateral clutch — a combination that delivers a notably smooth pusher action and precise timing function. The movement operates at 21,600 vph and offers approximately 40 hours of power reserve. Housed in the Royal Oak's signature 39mm stainless steel case with its eight-sided bezel and exposed hexagonal screws — a design Gerald Genta sketched overnight in 1971 — the 25860ST represents the chronograph complication executed at the highest level of integration.

When images first circulated showing what appeared to be a deep burgundy-wine dial on Inzaghi's wrist, the watch community took notice immediately. Non-standard dial colours on the Royal Oak Chronograph are extraordinarily rare, and a genuine burgundy 25860ST would represent a significant and highly collectible piece. However, Watch Paparazzi can confirm that reliable sources have since established the photograph was almost certainly colour-altered at source. The dial is, in all probability, the classic blue — the most iconic and sought-after configuration on the 25860ST, showing AP's signature petite tapisserie pattern in deep navy with contrasting steel applied indices.

Inzaghi has long cultivated a reputation for understated elegance both on the touchline and off it. A Royal Oak Chronograph in steel with a blue dial sits comfortably within that aesthetic: recognisable to those who know, unshowy to those who don't. It is precisely the kind of watch a serious collector acquires for its mechanical merit rather than its logo.

On the current market, the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Chronograph ref. 25860ST commands strong grey-market premiums. Retail pricing for current Royal Oak Chronograph steel references sits north of $30,000, while the 25860ST — a discontinued reference with genuine collector pedigree — regularly trades between $35,000 and $50,000 depending on condition, box and papers.