Rare watch featuring Oman’s khanjar to go on sale

Muscat: An iconic watch that is part of a collection which is stamped with the khanjar of the Sultanate of Oman is up for grabs at an auction that will take place later this month.

The White Khanjar Daytona Series, which features the khanjar as part of its dial, is being put up for auction by Christie’s as part of their Important Watches auction, which will take place in Dubai on 22 March, 2019.

This particular watch, which is estimated to fetch a price of between $250,000 and $450,000 (approximately OMR 95,000 to 140,000), was originally made in 1979. The dials of the Daytona collection have these khanjars predominantly in red, although white and green variants – the colours of the Sultanate’s flag – are also present.

“The property of an Omani private collector, the present reference 1807 is an extremely rare example of a Rolex Day-Date model made for the Sultanate of Oman, featuring the Royal Khanjar,” said a Christie’s statement. “The watch features the K.R. stamp on the case back, standing for the world-famous Omani Rolex retailer Khimji Ramdas. Furthermore, a close inspection to the case back is revealing a small whole on the outer teeth typical of KR Rolex watches. Once opened, the case back reveals the case number of the watch stamped inside which is typical of some Middle Eastern special orders of Rolex.

“The present watch, consigned directly from Oman, is in an exceptional condition and will surely speak to collectors of high quality collectible watches featuring logo or crests,” added the statement.

The piece in question features an automatic calibration and is studded with 26 jewels. Its dial is champagne-brushed, features a red khanjar, with applied baton numerals and luminous accents, luminous hands. It also features Arabic numerals on a sunken track, with aperture for the days in English, and a magnified window for the date.

Its case is 18 carat gold, and features a tonneau-shaped, bark-finished bezel, and also features an 18 carat gold Rolex President bracelet with bark-finished central links. Its overall length is approximately 180 mm and contains a deployant clasp. The watch also comes with a personalised card in an envelope stamped with the khanjar.