King Farouk of Egypt.
A rare, 18-carat gold Patek Philippe watch once belonging to Egypt’s late King Farouk was sold for US $912,500 to an unidentified buyer at Christie’s in Dubai over the weekend, setting a new record for a timepiece auctioned in the Middle East.
The wrist watch is one of 281 designs ever created. It was designed by the prestigious Swiss watchmaker for the King in 1944, and features unique engraving on the casing of the Royal Crown of Egypt, a half moon and a star resembling Egypt’s flag at the time, and boats his initial, the letter F. It was initially estimated to be worth US $400,000 to $800,000 by the auction house.
Courtesy of Christie’s.
King Farouk was the tenth ruler hailing from the Muhammad Ali Dynasty. He led Egypt and Sudan for 16 years, and had a well-known penchant for luxurious watches, which is said he inherited from his father, King Fouad I, who had a personal collection of timepieces created by the world’s greatest watchmakers.
Two years ago, an auction was held to sell his mother Queen Nazli of Egypt’s jewels, which saw a custom Van Cleef & Arpels piece created for her daughter’s lavish wedding in 1939, sell for US $4.3 million.
Meanwhile, a Rolex made for Dubai’s ruler HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum was sold for US $162,500 at the Christie’s auction held on Friday. The stainless steel timepiece was custom-made for him.
The sales total for the auction was US $7.1 million.
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