We all know that Rolex, by its own precise commercial choice, has never made limited series. Nevertheless, we know several of its models customized for the seller, such as Tiffany, or in very distant times Astrua, Verga or Versace. Other models were made for special corps, such as Peruvian FAPs or Comex or even the famous Octopus. Missing from this list is perhaps the most famous of all customizations. Let's discover it together...

If variants, concepts, and prototypes have been a constant in the history of the Daytona, special dials are its concrete historical and collector's consecration. Made by Rolex itself at the request of major distribution chains, such as the American Tiffany, or for very special 'clients', such as the Arab Emirates or the Sultanate of Oman, these customizations add importance and rarity to the models that possess them. Natural, then, is the interest from collectors all over the world, who have believed in and invested in them already in the early days.

Turning to a concrete example, let's take a closer look at the dials with the Oman logo: two crossed swords with a large dagger in the center, the Khanjar, this the famous coat of arms of the Sultanate of Oman, wanted by Sultan Qaboos Bin Saeed himself and printed generally at 12 o'clock on Daytona dials, more rarely at six o'clock, as in the case of the model in the photo, inside the chronograph hour counter.

A cadet at the age of 20 at the Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst, located in English Surrey, Qaboos Bin Said was helped to consolidate his power, once he came to the throne in 1970, by British special forces and the Royal Air Force itself. This 6263 chronograph , belonging to a small number of pieces all with sequential serial numbers between them, was gifted to the very British officers who helped him liberate Oman from internal rebel wars.

Back to the dial. For its creation, several steps were generally carried out: the first with a white paint, so as to create a neutral background, the second with the chosen color (red, but also green), which in this way enjoyed the maximum brightness. In addition, the graphics of these particular dials are dedicated, thus non-standard: in order to receive the logo, as an alternative to the usual "Rolex Oyster Cosmograph" inscriptions close together, "Rolex Oyster" was printed at the top, then the logo, and then "Cosmograph," which consequently was placed above the 6 o'clock counter. The "Rolex" graphics also do not belong to the production of the time but to those in use in the 1960s for references with pump keys. Some of these dials also bear "Sigma" next to the Swiss T, a feature highlighting the use of gold markers.

As Daniel Bourn said in an article by Ross Povery on the Revolutionwatch website, "There was a custom in the Gulf of presenting gifts, often watches, in recognition of achievement, appreciation, or as a sign of respect. The Sultan was one of the great watch collectors, ordering personalized watches with the Oman Khanjar or his signature on the dials, through Asprey London in the 1970s and early 1980s, on rare occasions from Asprey Genève (the few known have become extremely coveted by collectors) and later through Khimji Ramdas. The Sultan sometimes presented the watches as gifts to loyal staff, foreign dignitaries, and those who had provided great service to the Sultanate of Oman. These would include members of his military forces and also foreigners."

During the 1970s, His Majesty Qaboos bin Said Al Said, commissioned Rolex to produce a number of watches often emblazoned with the Khanjar logo, or His Highness' signature at 6 or 9 o'clock. These special order models ranged from the Submariner to the Daytona and even the Day-Date. Watches equipped with "Khanjar" dials were presented as gifts to the monarch's closest dignitaries and officials. It was an honor and a sign of respect to receive a Rolex watch depicting the symbol of the state of Oman. Many of these watches are cherished by their original owners, rarely worn and passed down from generation to generation. The 6265 pictured features the Khanjar logo at 6 o'clock, inside the chronograph hour counter. Printed in shades of gold, it matches the gold graphics incredibly well. The watch itself is preserved in excellent condition, with crisp hallmarks and gold marks under the lugs. It still has its original pushers and bracelet, which retains its 71 end links. Even rarer is the presence of the factory sticker on the case back. It can be assumed that the watch has been worn only a handful of times.

Ultimately, this watch is part of an extremely rare number of Cosmographs with the Khanjar logo printed in the secondary register at six o'clock, representing by far one of the finest and best-preserved examples for this type. Beaten at the Geneva Watch Auction: SIX organized by Phillips - Bacs & Russo on November 11/12, 2017, it fetched 275,000 Swiss francs at the time. Today, its estimate is much higher and given the rarity of the individual piece is bound to increase anyway.