Rolex watches with army provenance rock Dubai public auction

The collectability of steel Rolex sporting activities watches with martial provenance-- watches created defence forces or police devices-- proceeds unrelenting. The top carrying out whole lot at the just-concluded Christie's Watches Online: Dubai Edit was a Ref. 5513/17 'MilSub' from 1977 made for the British Navy. It sold for a massive for $400,000 (AED1,454,042) versus a quote of $140,000-240,000.

The two-week-long on-line sale that wrapped up over the weekend break completed $5,592,000 (AED20,327,501) in sales for the public auction house. The 'MilSub' is short for Military Submariner as well as is a reference to the steel scuba diver's watches Rolex created the British Navy in the 1970's. These watches are very desired due to their military backstories; they starting showing up in the additional market after being "deactivated" to buy to the general public.

A Rolex Sea-Dweller "Polipetto" from 2008 made specifically for the dive device (Sommozzatori) of the Italian State Police (Polizia di Stato) sold for $118,750 versus a pre-sale price quote of $60,000-90,000. The nickname "Polipetto" is a referral to the Octopus symbol of the Sommozzatori on the dial. Further, a Rolex Submariner Ref. 1110LN from 2013 commissioned by Britain's Special Reconnaissance Pressure Routine hammered for $50,000 when its pre-sale quote was between $20,000-40,000.

If it was not a vintage Rolex Submariner pulling in the big bucks, it was a Patek Philippe perpetual calendar chronograph. An unusual Ref. 5271P-011 in platinum with a diamond-set instance, a baguette-cut diamond-set at 12 o'clock on the dial and also on the platinum deployant hold sold for $200,000 (AED727,021). A highly-skeletonised yellow gold Patek Philippe watch Ref. 912 adorned with gems-- 177 rubies (worth 1.71 carat), 12 rubies (0.15 ct.) and also 55 pearls-- brought $118,750 (AED431,669) versus a pre-sale estimate of $35,000-50,000.

It is worth discussing here that this was the largest on the internet sale hosted by the public auction home. About 160 wrist watches[get the look] were up for grabs during the two-week period. Collectors from the Middle East acquired fifty percent of the top 10 lots cost the public auction. This year's catalogue had an exhaustive collection of watches with connection to Gulf royalty or Middle Eastern federal governments.

A yellow gold Rolex Ref. 18238 Day-Date with a dial bearing the logo of the UAE militaries cost $21,500, over the pre-sale estimate of $12,000-18,000. A white gold Rolex Ref. 1803 with the Khanjar insignia (the national sign of Oman) hammered for $81,250 when the pre-sale estimate was $50,000-80,000. According to Christie's, 45 percent of the registrants at the sale were new to the auction residence. In overall, the auction saw prospective buyers from 38 nations, throughout five continents.