Getty Image / Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
I’m a firm believer that at some point every man enters his ‘watch guy’ phase once he crosses paths with a watch that really catches his eye. For some guys it’s as simple as a flashy price tag and brand prestige that sucks them in and for others it’s a lot more complicated. Meta CEO and Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg has officially entered his ‘watch guy’ phase with a stunning Patek Philippe ref. 5236 Grand Complications which we’ll take a look at below, but first…
How Mark Zuckerberg Entered His Watch Era With A New Patek Philippe ref. 5236
As the saying goes, the writing was on the wall for months. Over the past 18 or so months, Mark Zuckerberg has slowly shed his daily style of a Brunello Cucinelli T-shirt paired with the same jeans every single day. These days he wears a gold chain as a special tribute to his daughters. He wears custom t-shirts like this ‘Carthago delenda est‘ one worn on his 40th birthday with the message that translates to ‘Carthage Must Be Destroyed,’ an iconic phrase from Cato the Elder during the Third Punic War:
Mark Zuckerberg / Instagram
Back in December of last year, Zuckerberg showcased how Meta’s AI-enabled smart glasses can be used to help him get dressed and it was the public’s first peak inside of the billionaire’s closet. A few months later was a big moment for Mark’s ‘Watch Guy’ era when he attended the ‘Wedding of the Century’ between Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant, Zuckerberg was blown away by Anant Ambani’s (Richard Mille) RM 30-01 watch (which can cost up to $490K).
Admiring Anant Ambani’s RM 30-01, Mark Zuckerberg was overheard on video saying “you know, I never really wanted to get a watch. But after seeing that, I was like, watches are cool.” That appeared to be the moment that he was sucked in for good and now Mark Zuckerberg has officially entered his ‘Watch Guy’ era and is wearing a self-winding Patek Philippe 5236P Grand Complications watch in his latest selfie. Though it was very hard to discern what it was based on the selfie:
Zooming in, anyone knowing what they were looking for could see the Calatrava cross-signed crown and someone in the comments on Instagram asked Mark Zuckerberg which Patek Philippe reference the watch was. Zuck responded ‘5236P.’ Shout out to GQ for spotting Mark’s reply because I saw the post and immediately noticed the watch but didn’t see his reply until GQ wrote about it.
He made an excellent decision with the Patek Philippe in-line perpetual calendar Reference 5236P-010.
It is unclear of Mark went with Patek’s new salmon variation of the in-line perpetual calendar Reference 5236P-010 which was debuted this year in Geneva or the blue dial which was released in 2021, but the navy dial is typically paired with a navy strap which it doesn’t appear that he isn’t wearing in the photo so presumably, it the brand new Patek Philippe 5236 in salmon that Mark Zuckerberg picked up for his very first watch which honestly is incredible because it is such a rare timepiece at this point but also the perfect fit for him.
The strap? Alligator leather with a platinum fold-over clasp.
The dial? Patek describes it as “Opaline rose-gilt, charcoal gray white gold applied faceted baton-style hour markers.”
The movement? A self-winding mehcanical movement. Caliber 31‑260 PS QL. In-line perpetual calendar. Moon phases. Small seconds. Day, date, month, leap year and day/night indication in apertures.
The price? Starts at $141,400 according to Patek Philippe’s listing of the new watch on their website.
Pretty, pretty nice!
And of course, anyone who has bought/owned a nice timepiece knows what comes next… You can’t stop at just one. Watch collecting is a hobby. It’s addictive. There will certainly be more on the horizon.