Watch Paparazzi

Royal Joaan Bin Hamad Al Thani spotted wearing Patek Philippe

At Eid prayers, Sheikh Joaan Bin Hamad Al Thani appeared wearing a watch that most collectors will never hold in their hands: the Patek Philippe Nautilus ref. 5711/1A-014, the olive-green dial farewell edition that Patek Philippe used to close the chapter on one of the most iconic references in the history of Swiss watchmaking.

The 5711/1A-014 was unveiled in January 2021 alongside Patek Philippe's announcement that the standard 5711/1A-010 — the blue-dialed steel Nautilus that had defined aspirational watchmaking for a generation — would be discontinued. In its place, this olive-green variant was produced as a deliberate final statement. The dial, a warm, gradient-adjacent olive tone with horizontal embossing and applied gold-toned baton indices, sits beneath a 40mm stainless steel case designed by Gerald Genta in 1976. The movement is the calibre 26-330 S C, a self-winding manufacture movement with a 45-hour power reserve, centre seconds, and date complication — mechanically conservative by Patek's standards, but finished to the house's exacting quality benchmarks.

From a collector standpoint, the 5711/1A-014 occupies a singular position. It was limited in production — Patek has never confirmed exact numbers — and allocated exclusively through long-standing boutique relationships. Within days of its announcement, grey market prices had surpassed $100,000. By 2022, documented sales exceeded $300,000, placing this steel sports watch in territory typically reserved for complicated dress pieces. The olive dial, initially polarising, rapidly achieved consensus status as one of the most beautiful dials Patek has produced in the modern era.

Sheikh Joaan Bin Hamad Al Thani is widely regarded among Gulf collectors as one of the most knowledgeable and serious horological enthusiasts in the region. His collection is known to include the rarest contemporary and vintage references from the world's top maisons. Wearing the 5711/1A-014 to Eid prayers — a high-visibility public occasion — reads less as ostentation and more as the considered choice of someone who simply wears what he owns.

On the current grey market, the Patek Philippe Nautilus 5711/1A-014 trades around $330,000, against its official retail of $34,800. Few modern references demonstrate so starkly the gap between list price and genuine market value — or the near-impossibility of retail acquisition without prior client standing.