Rolex. A very fine and extremely rare 18K gold automatic wristwatch with sweep centre seconds and Arabic calendar. Made for the Sultanate of Oman

In production from 1959 to 1977, reference 1803 can be considered the most classical of all the day-date references: its case strikes the perfect balance between sporty and elegant, and the ribbed bezel has grown to become the bezel collectors think of when imagining a Day-Date. It is the chef d’oeuvre against which all day-date models are weighted.

When such a landmark model comes blessed with one of the most appealing and collectible traits to possibly be found on a Rolex – or any – timepiece: a Khanjar dial, it is obvious we are in front of a watch whose importance cannot be underestimated. The presence of the Arabic calendar discs – a trait which boosts the allure and exotic vibe of the Middle Eastern personalization, and found only on a minority of the Omani timepieces – further amplifies the collectability of the piece.