The present example is offered in absolutely unpolished condition; in fact it still bears the factory protective stickers to the band - in our opinion not a service replacement but the never removed original ones. An additional confirmation to this hypothesis is the well preserved blue strap. It is well known how delicate these straps are: only a few months of wear and the delicate tint will completely fade. In this case, however the fading is only slightly hinted to: unmistakable sign that the strap is not a new one, but also that the watch has only been sparsely used.

Last, but not least, the Garantie holds the key to the true importance of this timepiece: it was originally sold to His Royal Highness Prince Naif Bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia, who was obviuosly visiting Geneva in Novemebr 2001. Combining stunning looks, iconoclastic design, high rarity, unpolished condition and even royal provenance, this is without a doubt one of the most collectible examples of Cosmograph Daytona Beach to ever appear on the market.

H.R.H PRINCE NAIF BIN ABDULAZIZ

Born in Ta'if, Saudi Arabia in 1934, Prince Naif (also spelled "Nayef" or "Naeif") received his education at the Prince's School in Riyadh - an istitution established, as the name suggests, for the education of members of the royal family and the children of other influent Saudi personalities. After regional political responsibilities, he was appointed in 1970 both deputy interior minister and minister of state for internal affairs and in 1975 he became Minister of Interior. Some of the most important aspects of his tenure include a fierce fight against terrorism - exemplified by the myriad of terrorism-related arrests which he order in 1994, and the successful 2003-2006 campaign against domestic Al Qaida activities - and the decision to issue ID cards to all Saudi women, who were previously registered under their husband's or father's name.
In 2009 his powers were further expanded as he became second deputy prime minister, and on October 27, 2011 he was eventually appointed first deputy prime minister and Crown Prince - that is: heir apparent to the Throne of Saudi Arabia. He passed away before the death of King Abdullah, thus never becoming King, but during his rule as deputy prime minister he sustained a campaign of moral modernization of the country, with actions such as the removal of religious authorities who objected to the mingling of men and women in public spaces.