It’s Nautilus vs Aquanaut as Brooklyn Beckham & James Corden have a steak / frites cook-off while wearing Pateks

Zach Blass

Sports watches were once truly tool watches. A chronograph was a stopwatch on the wrist, a dive watch with a timing bezel was the original dive computer. But today, the idea that either are the best tools for the job is a bit romantic. They definitely can get it done, and that is part of the appeal and why buyers acquire them. That being said, using your chronograph or timing bezel to time your boiling pasta is more of a horological flex than a necessity. As watch prices have soared over the years, many sport or tool watches get “babied” by their owners in order to protect their condition and therefore value on the secondary market. When you have the deep pockets of a celebrity, however, watches do not really need to be “safe queens”. And on a recent episode of The Late Late Show with James Corden, Brooklyn Beckham and James Corden have proved just that.

As they have a culinary duel to see who can make the better steak / frites dish, watch lovers will immediately clock the duelling Patek Philippe watches on their wrists. The Aquanaut is incredibly hard to secure at retail, and now that the Nautilus ref. 5711 is discontinued, prospective buyers’ chances have decreased from less than one per cent to absolute zero. Regardless, both Beckham and Corden are happy to sizzle their steaks and fry their fries with their unobtanium watches on the wrist. To be honest, I love it. It is great to see watches being worn in the hurly-burly of daily life, not left in a box waiting to receive bids at auction.

Brooklyn Beckham: Patek Philippe Nautilus 5711/1R

The 5711/1R is obviously not a steel watch, but it is built to be a precious daily driver for those who can afford it. According to Chrono24, the market price for this rose gold Nautilus was $117,058 USD. These days though, to buy one will set you back $356,121 USD according to the platform. Nonetheless, Brooklyn Beckham is 100 per cent in the zone – dicing, seasoning and searing away to make his dish.

It’s a bold move a Beckham can afford to make. Sure, we might wonder what we could buy ourselves with the proceeds of selling/flipping such a watch. But there is something admirable about seeing someone wearing such a hot watch without a care in the world.

James Corden: Patek Philippe Aquanaut 5167A

If any Patek Philippe watch was built for a casual yet competitive cook-off, it would be the Aquanaut. That’s what I love about it. The black rubber strap means there is no hand-finished bracelet to worry about scratching, and I have always viewed it as the most down-to-earth holy trinity watch. Corden may have gotten the idea of sporting the stealth Patek flex from Sir Paul McCartney during their time filming one of my favorite ever installments of Carpool Karaoke. It has become a go-to daily for the late night show host, and for good reason. It is a super versatile piece that can be dressed up with a suit, and find itself equally, if not more, at home with a shirt and jeans.

So, if I had to pick between the two watches, within this scenario, I would definitely go with Corden and the Aquanaut. If I won the lottery tomorrow, and had both of these watches in my collection, I could never feel comfortable cooking with a rose-gold Nautilus on. I could, however, see myself rocking a steel Aquanaut while getting my Gordon Ramsay on in the kitchen.

You can check out the duelling Pateks and chefs in action in the full video clip above.