New Sultan of Oman Rocking his Rolex Air-King...

New Sultan of Oman

Rocking his Rolex Air-King

Oman Sultan Qaboos bin Said passed away recently and just afterward Nick Gould sent in this photo of his cousin, Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said who recently took over as the ruler of Oman. Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said is pictured below wearing his Rolex Air King.

Rolex introduced this all new 40MM Stainless Steel Air King model [Reference 116900] at Basel World 2016. Captain Danny is a big fan of this newer Air King and wrote a fascinating detailed article named "A Pilot Explains The Rolex Air-King."

Rolex watches have been very popular in Oman for many decades, and below are examples of Oman dial Rolex watches.

Omani Sea-Dweller

The dial on this very interesting looking Rolex Sea-Dweller [Reference 1665] has the emblem of the Sultanate of Oman which is a sheath over two crossed swords. These very rare watches were made in 1972 and given to the SAS (Special Air Service) regiment soldiers from the Sultan of Oman.

Photo Credit: Cortez Ramon

Omani Rolex Daytona Models

Arab dial logo custom Rolex watches are really cool and highly collectable. Today we look at two different versions of the same Rolex Daytona [Reference 6263]. This first one is from Stefano Mazzariol.

This next Omani dial Rolex Daytona [Reference 6263], has a green Omani sword logo and it appears courtesy of Cortez Ramon.

...Rolex Studio Shot Of The Day...

An Omani Rolex Cosmograph

Some of these vintage Rolex Chronographs with Arab dials are so cool looking, like this Omani Cosmograph.

Sultan of Oman Rolex Day-Date Models

Record Setting Price Results at Christies Auction

Christies recently auctioned off some amazing Rolex watches on May 12, 2014, in Geneva, Switzerland that were made for the Sultan of Oman, and this auction included a number of Rolex Day-Date "Presidential" models that shattered previous records. We begin with this platinum Rolex Day-Date made which was made in 1974, and features a blue dial with a red Omani crest, coupled with diamond dial markers and with matching diamonds running around the bezel. This watch was estimated to sell for between $51,000 and $79,000, and it ended up selling for more than four times the estimate at $352,119!!! Basically, vintage Rolex watches are going through the roof at auction!!!

The next watch pictured below which features baguette cut baton markers cut from rubies on a yellow gold Rolex Day-Date [Made in 1984 Reference 18038, Caliber 3055], as well as the Omani crest on the dial. This watch was estimated to sell from between $42,000 to $82,000 and it ended up selling for $182,287!!!

On a side note, watches that were made by Rolex that feature Arab logos on the dial are typically know as "Arabic Rolex Watches."

Next up we see another yellow gold Rolex Day-Date made for the Sultan Of Oman, and this one was made in 1979, and it sold also had an estimate selling price of between $42,000 and $68,000, but sold for more than double at $168,700.

Dalai Lama Rolex Keeping The Time Of His Life

What Kind Of Man Wears Rolex?

I recently wrote a story titled, "The Rolex Woman", which explored the Evolution Of The Female Rolex Archetype. So when we think about the male Rolex archetype, many different people come to mind. Macho-men, that are really cool, like Paul Newman, Robert Redford and Steve McQueen. In modern times you might think of Michael Jordan, Brad Pitt, or James Cameron. 

When you think of Political figures who wear a gold Rolex you might think of U.S. Presidents, Dwight Eisenhower, Lyndon Johnson or Bill Clinton, or even former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney. When people think about Civil Rights Leaders who have worn yellow gold Rolex watches, they might think about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., or Jesse Jackson. One man who might surprise people with wearing a Yellow Gold Rolex President, is no other than His Holiness, The Dali Lama of Tibet.

I recently published a story on Jake's Rolex World that showcases a story I wrote that was published in Rolex's paper magazine named, "The Rolex Magazine." The name of my story was "The Rolex Precedent", which is a play on the widely used nickname of the Rolex Day-Date, which is is know as "The Rolex President." The Rolex President gained this name and notoriety as it has been worn on the wrist of many powerful politicians, and political figures. U.S. President, Lyndon Johnson was probably the first figure that not only wore a Rolex Day-Date, but wielded it as the ultimate "Political Tool Watch." In other words, Rolex's Sports Models, which have commonly been referred to as Professional Models by Rolex, are commonly referred to by collectors as "Tool Watches." So many people are surprised to learn that the ultimate "Political Tool Watch" have historically been the Yellow Gold Rolex Datejust and Day-Date models.

...Nobel Peace Prize Laureate...

Dalai Lama

Rolex Keeping The Time Of His Life

 Blue Sunburst Dial

The Dalai Lama is considered to be the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, and he is renowned for his wisdom diplomacy, kindness, smile and peaceful nature. It is difficult to discover what kind or watch he wears, because he always wears his watches, rotated 180 degrees around his wrist. When a watch is worn backwards on the wrist, it serves to camouflage the watch, which makes it difficult to observe.

In the photo above, we see The Dalai Lama wearing his Yellow Gold Rolex Day-Date as he stands next to South African President and Civil Right Leader, Nelson Mandela.

As mentioned, The Dalai Lama typically goes out of his way to make certain his watches never appear to be fancy or ostentatious. His holiness does so, by typically putting them on inexpensive stretchable Speidel Twist-O-Flex watch bands. In this recent photo, we see the Dalai Lama with Prince Charles, and the Dalai Lama is wearing a yellow gold Rolex Day-Date with a cobalt blue dial. 

The photo below shows a cobalt blue Rolex sunburst dial which I believe is the same one on the Dalai Lama's Day-Date.

In this next photo, we see the Dalai Lama wearing a two-tone Rolex Datejust on a jubilee bracelet, as he meets with the Head Rabbi of Israel Meir Lau, in Jerusalem, Israel.

Apparently, His Holiness, The 14th Dalai Lama is not only a big watch collector, but works on his own watches, as seen in the photo below. It turns out that former U.S. President, Franklin Roosevelt was apparently responsible for infecting Dalai Lama with WISitus when he was only seven or eight years old!

During World War II , the Allied Powers wanted to build a road through Tibet, from India that continued to China. In 1943, two American agents from the Office Of Strategic Services delivered a package to the young Dalai Lama from U.S. President Roosevelt, which contained a letter and a complicated yellow-gold Patek Phillipe Reference 658 Pocket-watch model. This story first came to light in the Patek Philippe Magazine, Issue Number 8, from Fall of 2000.

The Dalai Lama once recounted his experience as a young boy while working on watches: "I have always enjoyed repairing watches. But I can remember a number of occasions as a boy when, completely losing my patience with those tiny, intricate parts, I picked up the mechanism and smashed it down on the table. Of course, later I felt very sorry and ashamed of my behavior—especially when, as on one occasion, I had to return the watch to its owner in a condition worse than it was before!" [Dalai Lama, Ethics for the new millennium].