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Lot Essay
Highly attractive and rare, the present timepiece features a striking blue sunburst 'Pie-Pan' dial stamped with a red Khanjar - a part of the national emblem of Oman. Timepieces with 'Khanjar' dials were made on special request from His Majesty Qaboos bin Said Al Said, the Sultan of Oman, and presented as gifts to his closest dignitaries.
On the inside of the caseback, in addition to the usual case maker’s indications, the serial number is engraved above the reference number. This is a characteristic that is typical of special orders and was executed by Asprey, who also engraved their name on the back. During the early years of the 1970s there were no official watch agents in Oman and so almost all of the watches made by various brands were supplied through the ultra high-end retailer Asprey in London and very occasionally through their Geneva branch. Located since 1847 at 167, New Bond Street, the Asprey name has become particularly synonymous with watches supplied to Middle Eastern royalty with special emblem dials and/or exotic gem-set cases particularly by Rolex, Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet.
In regard to watches, it was really only Asprey who for generations had direct contact with this kind of exalted client and those clients trusted the company to coordinate their special watch requirements. In the 1950s, 60s and 70s and even into the 80s, outsiders, even the famous watch brands would have had almost no access or opportunity to deal directly with Middle Eastern royalty, Asprey was therefore the main conduit for that very important market.
On the inside of the caseback, in addition to the usual case maker’s indications, the serial number is engraved above the reference number. This is a characteristic that is typical of special orders and was executed by Asprey, who also engraved their name on the back. During the early years of the 1970s there were no official watch agents in Oman and so almost all of the watches made by various brands were supplied through the ultra high-end retailer Asprey in London and very occasionally through their Geneva branch. Located since 1847 at 167, New Bond Street, the Asprey name has become particularly synonymous with watches supplied to Middle Eastern royalty with special emblem dials and/or exotic gem-set cases particularly by Rolex, Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet.
In regard to watches, it was really only Asprey who for generations had direct contact with this kind of exalted client and those clients trusted the company to coordinate their special watch requirements. In the 1950s, 60s and 70s and even into the 80s, outsiders, even the famous watch brands would have had almost no access or opportunity to deal directly with Middle Eastern royalty, Asprey was therefore the main conduit for that very important market.