The Rolexes that tell the history of a coup
After they helped overthrow his father, an SAS team were gifted bespoke luxury watches by the Sultan of Oman, beginning a tradition that continued until the end of his life. Now some of those rare timepieces are coming up for sale
Gifting a watch has long been a way of expressing gratitude for loyalty, long service or acts above and beyond the call of duty. But when it comes to dishing out expensive timepieces, there have been few people more magnanimous than His Majesty Qaboos bin Said al Said, better known as the Sultan of Oman.
By the time he died in 2020 at the age of 79, Qaboos had come to be regarded not only as one of the world’s most prolific watch collectors, but also as a producer of coveted special editions in his own right.
These “Khanjar” watches (a Khanjar dagger being the mark of the Sultan) were made at the Sultan’s request — and at Christie’s Geneva on May 13 no fewer than six Rolexes that he ordered with such an emblem will cross the auction block with a combined value of more than CHF 3 million (£2.7 million).
The history of the Khanjar watches dates back to 1970, when Qaboos overthrew his less forward-thinking father in a coup supported by the British government, planned by MI6 and backed up by an SAS unit operating under the guise of “the British Army Training Team”.
Following the coup, Qaboos renamed his country Oman (previously “Muscat and Oman”) and created a red, white and green flag bearing a new national emblem — a sheathed Khanjar dagger on top of two swords.
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Qaboos began gifting watches as a way of thanking a group of SAS troops involved in the coup, and in order to emphasise his gratitude he hit on the idea of having the dials customised with the newly minted Khanjar symbol.
The first watches chosen for the treatment were Rolex Sea-Dwellers, which Qaboos ordered from the London jeweller Asprey to which he had been introduced while studying in the UK, first at school in Suffolk and later while undergoing army officer training at Sandhurst.
It is thought that Qaboos went on to commission several hundred Khanjar pieces to give away to everyone from trusted advisers to foreign dignitaries and, if he thought they deserved it, the humblest of servants. The fact that some watches have consecutive serial numbers suggests he occasionally bought in bulk.
Rolex was the most popular choice of make, but other Khanjar watches by brands including Patek Philippe, Tudor and IWC are also in circulation, most of which carry the Asprey stamp.
Some experts believe the Khanjar decoration (which variously took the form of a dial stamp or an engraving on the case back) was carried out only by Asprey or by jewellers in Oman rather than by the manufacturers — although, in a rare break from convention, Rolex is known to have supplied dials with its own name removed or relocated in order to accommodate the symbol.
One such watch is among the Christie’s lots in the form of a c 1978 Cosmograph Daytona in yellow gold, which carries the Khanjar symbol in black directly beneath the Rolex crown at 12 o’clock.
A regular example in similar condition would be worth about £100,000-£140,000 — but this one’s Omani provenance means it could fetch as much as £400,000, while an even rarer model from c 1985 is estimated to realise up to £1.25 million.
The so-called “Jack of Diamonds” reference 6269 Cosmograph has a diamond-set bezel, a diamond and sapphire-set dial and the Khanjar symbol engraved on the case back. It is only the second example of the watch known to have been sold to Oman.
In very special circumstances Qaboos substituted the Khanjar for a facsimile of his own signature, which was stamped onto dials in red.
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The auction features two such watches, one being a steel Daytona from c 1974 that is estimated to fetch £500,000–£1 million; the other is a c 1973 Sea-Dweller that Christie’s describes as being in “astounding” condition and “probably the finest ever offered at auction”.
A seventh watch ordered by Qaboos, but carrying neither his signature nor the Khanjar, is also up for grabs with an estimate of £90,000–£180,000.
A steel Daytona from 1974, it has added value because its chronograph subdials have faded from black to brown, creating what collectors call the “tropical” effect that sets collectors’ pulses racing.
Because as every custom Khanjar demonstrates, it’s not just about the watch — it’s about the nuance.
Christie’s Rare Watches sale is at the Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues in Geneva on Saturday, May 13. All lots are on view from 10am to 6pm until Friday. Catalogue online at christies.com
