Rolex Day-Date 1803 Qaboos

About the work

A Rolex Day-Date “President” in 18 ct yellow gold, reference 1803, made in 1974 — but no ordinary one. Beneath the hands the dial carries, in red Arabic script, the name of Sultan Qaboos bin Said al Said, ruler of Oman from 1970 to 2020, and the day of the week in the window below twelve is shown in Arabic. Watches with the so-called Qaboos dial were ordered from Rolex by the Sultan himself and presented as tokens of gratitude and favour — to heads of state, officers, diplomats and people who had rendered service to Oman. They never reached the shops; they come to the market only from the recipients and their families, which makes them among the rarest and most sought-after variants of the Day-Date.

Authenticity is confirmed by the details collectors look for first: the case back bears the KR mark — the signature of the Muscat jewellery house Khimji Ramdas, Rolex's official agent to the Sultan's court, through which these commissions passed — and the serial number 3781xxx, also stamped inside the case back, dates the watch to 1974. The 36 mm Oyster case with fluted bezel and screw-down crown, the acrylic crystal and the three-row President bracelet with concealed crown clasp are all in original condition; inside runs the automatic calibre 1555, an officially certified chronometer (“Superlative Chronometer Officially Certified”). All parts are original.

The watch is in very good condition with light traces of wear appropriate to half a century of age; without its original box and papers, as is usual with these presentation pieces. Reference 1803, produced from 1959 to 1978, is the last generation of the Day-Date with an acrylic crystal — for purists the finest form of the watch whose nickname “President” was born on the wrist of Lyndon B. Johnson in the White House. The union of this classic with a sovereign's dial makes for an object of clear origin, documented rarity and steadily growing interest from collectors worldwide.