Lionel Messi’s last night in an Argentina shirt was always going to be remembered for the ovations, the tears and the 10th-minute pause in his honor at the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires. But when his longtime teammate Ángel Di María shared a dressing-room photo of the two after the friendly against Benin on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, watch collectors noticed something else: the watch on Messi’s wrist was a white gold Patek Philippe Nautilus ref. 5810G-001.
The Haute Minute
Lionel Messi wore a Patek Philippe Nautilus ref. 5810G-001 after his final Argentina match on October 6, 2026. The 50th-anniversary edition has a 41 mm white gold case, sunburst blue dial, baguette diamond markers and ultra-thin Caliber 240, limited to 1,000 pieces.
The answer to what watch Messi wore for his Argentina farewell, then, is Patek Philippe’s 50th-anniversary Nautilus, a 41 mm white gold model with a horizontally embossed sunburst blue dial, baguette diamond hour markers and a navy blue strap, issued in a limited edition of 1,000 pieces. For a man saying goodbye to one chapter, it is a fitting choice: a watch built to mark half a century of an icon.
The setting could hardly have been more emotional. Billed as the final appearance of a 21-year international career, the match drew crowds of well-wishers to the streets around the stadium, and Messi took the field with his three sons. A drone show lit up the sky at the final whistle. The photo with Di María, a fellow member of the generation that brought Argentina its 2022 World Cup, was a quieter moment, and that is precisely why the wrist shot reads so clearly.
Messi is no stranger to Patek Philippe. We have spotted him in a Patek Philippe Aquanaut before, the Nautilus’s sportier younger sibling. Moving from the Aquanaut to the anniversary Nautilus feels like a natural progression, and a telling one.
Patek Philippe created the 5810G-001 to mark the 50th anniversary of the Nautilus, the collection that debuted in 1976 and is retold in our look at 50 years of the Patek Philippe Nautilus. In the Manufacture’s words, it “revisits the design of the Nautilus” with an ultra-thin white gold case, a sunburst blue dial and a fabric-patterned navy blue composite-material strap.
The two-part case measures 41 mm in diameter, measured from 10 to 4 o’clock, and just 6.9 mm thick. Case and bezel alternate polished and satin finishing, the familiar porthole profile that has defined the Nautilus for five decades, and it is water-resistant to 30 meters with a screw-down crown and a sapphire crystal case back. The dial keeps things pure: there is no seconds hand and no date window, only white gold applied hour markers set with baguette diamonds totaling 0.39 carats and white gold rounded baton-style hands with white luminescent coating.
Inside is the ultra-thin self-winding Caliber 240, just 2.53 mm high, with 152 parts, 27 jewels and a minimum power reserve of 48 hours. Its 22K gold off-center minirotor is engraved with the inscription “50 1976 – 2026,” visible through the case back, and it carries the Gyromax balance, the Spiromax balance spring and the Patek Philippe Seal. The strap closes with a white gold fold-over clasp.
In our view, the restraint is what makes this the right watch for the moment. A stone-set bezel or a complication-heavy reference might have competed with the occasion; the 5810G-001 instead lets the shape that Gérald Genta drew in the 1970s do the talking, with the diamonds kept to the hour markers and the movement kept slim enough to hide under a cuff. It is a quiet piece of jewelry for a loud night, and that balance is very much in keeping with how Messi has carried himself across two decades with the national team.
For readers weighing the Nautilus against its integrated-bracelet rivals, our Royal Oak vs. Nautilus comparison sets out how the two Genta icons differ. The 5810G-001 is limited to 1,000 pieces, and Patek Philippe lists its suggested retail price in the United States at $75,019.
Messi may have stepped away from international football, but if his choice of watch is any signal, he is not done making statements.
| Reference | Patek Philippe Nautilus 5810G-001 |
|---|---|
| Edition | Limited to 1,000 pieces (Nautilus 50th anniversary) |
| Case | White gold, two-part; 41 mm (10–4 o’clock); 6.9 mm thick |
| Dial | Sunburst blue, horizontally embossed; baguette diamond hour markers (0.39 ct) |
| Movement | Caliber 240, ultra-thin self-winding; 22K gold minirotor engraved “50 1976 – 2026” |
| Power reserve | Minimum 48 hours |
| Water resistance | 30 meters |
| Strap | Navy blue composite, fabric pattern; white gold fold-over clasp |
Timely FAQs
What watch did Lionel Messi wear for his Argentina farewell?
In a dressing-room photo after his final Argentina match on October 6, 2026, Lionel Messi wore a Patek Philippe Nautilus ref. 5810G-001 in white gold with a sunburst blue dial.
What is the Patek Philippe Nautilus 5810G-001?
It is Patek Philippe’s 50th-anniversary Nautilus: a 41 mm, 6.9 mm-thick white gold watch with a horizontally embossed sunburst blue dial, baguette diamond hour markers and the ultra-thin self-winding Caliber 240, on a navy blue composite strap.
How many Nautilus 5810G-001 watches did Patek Philippe make?
Patek Philippe issued the Nautilus 5810G-001 as a limited edition of 1,000 pieces.
Adrienne Faurote
Editor in Chief · Haute Time
As a former New Yorker, now a “Miamian,” Adrienne Faurote joined Haute Living in August of 2021. She currently serves as the Haute Media Group Editor-in-Chief, overseeing all editorial platforms within the Haute Media Group while also maintaining her role as Fashion, Jewelry & Watch Director. Prior to her position at Haute Living, Faurote was the Market Editor at Marie Claire Magazine US, amassing over ten years in the industry, becoming an authoritative voice in all things fashion, jewelry, and watches.