Patek Philippe, 18k pink gold chronograph. Reference 1463R and retailed by Serpico y Laino, Caracas. Manufactured in 1950. Courtesy Christie’s
This weekend, the British auction house Christie’s is hosting its Important Watches Dubai 2019 Auction and rare watches worth as much as Dh55 million will be going under the hammer.
Out of all the luxury timepieces that will be on sale, a few have links to the Middle Eastern royalty. A number of Rolex watches are marked with the UAE Ministry of Defence Quraysh hawk logo which is the signature of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE, and Ruler of Dubai. According to Christie’s, the presence of the marking indicates that the watch was commissioned by Sheikh Mohammed when he was the defense minister. Watches with this style of dial dubbed as the “Al Maktoum”, have risen in value over the past years. Last year, a similar Rolex watch by Sheikh Mohammed sold for Dh595,042 to an anonymous telephone bidder.
Watches like the Rolex Platinum Daytona Ref. 116506, Rolex Day-Date Ref. 1811 feature Eastern Arabic numerals on the dial, which is an example of how Rolex created special order timepieces in the Middle East as popular gifts to dignitaries.
Rolex Daytona 6265 with “White Khanjar” made for the Sultanate of Oman. Manufactured circa 1979. Courtesy Christie’s
Also on sale this year is another Rolex, called the “White Khanjar” made for the Sultan of Oman and is estimated to fetch as much as $450,000. A Patek Phillipe timepiece previously owned by musician Eric Clapton is estimated to fetch more than $850,000.
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