Royal Ammar bin Humaid Al Nuaimi spotted wearing a Patek Philippe

Sheikh Ammar bin Humaid Al Nuaimi, Crown Prince of Ajman and one of the UAE's most quietly prominent royal watch collectors, was recently photographed wearing a reference that stops serious horologists mid-sentence: the Patek Philippe Advanced Research Aquanaut Travel Time 5650G in 18K white gold, one of only 500 examples ever produced.

The 5650G, introduced at Baselworld 2015, represents far more than a dressed-up Aquanaut. It was conceived as a working laboratory for Patek Philippe's Advanced Research division, which since 2005 has used limited production references to field-test proprietary innovations before potential integration into the broader catalogue. The headline technology here is the Spiromax balance spring in Silinvar — a silicon-based material offering anti-magnetic properties and near-perfect isochronism — paired with a Pulsomax escapement, also in Silinvar, eliminating the need for lubrication at the escapement level. The result is Calibre 324 S C FUS, a movement offering exceptional long-term stability and drastically reduced service intervals.

The true masterstroke, however, is the travel-time complication itself. Rather than relying on conventional pushers or crown manipulation to advance the second time zone, Patek's engineers devised a patented flex-point system: a discrete zone on the case middle that, when pressed, advances the local-hour hand. It is invisible in design, radical in engineering — exactly the philosophy that defines Advanced Research references.

The 5650G wears on the characteristic embossed rubber strap of the Aquanaut family, with a 44.6mm white gold case that gives the sportier DNA of the line a more formal, precious edge. Only 500 pieces were allocated globally, making collector acquisition at launch near-impossible outside of established client relationships with authorized dealers.

On the secondary market, the 5650G commands extraordinary premiums. Current grey-market valuations place the reference at approximately $915,000 — a figure that reflects both extreme scarcity and the reference's status as a document of Patek's most forward-looking engineering. For Sheikh Ammar, whose public appearances regularly feature references most collectors only encounter behind glass, the 5650G reads less as a luxury statement and more as a considered study in watchmaking at its most intellectually serious.