Manufacturer: Rolex Year: Circa 1976 Reference No: 6265 Case No: 4'128'424 Model Name: Cosmograpgh "Desert Eagle" Material: Stainless steel Calibre: Manual, cal.727, 17 jewels Bracelet/Strap: Stainless steel Rolex Oyster bracelet, end links stamped 557, max length 200mm Clasp/Buckle: Stainless steel Rolex deployant clasp stamped 78350 Dimensions: 37mm Diameter Signed: Case, movement and bracelet signed, dial with Rolex coronet Literature: A similar example is prominently illustrated in Ultimate Rolex Daytona by Pucci Papaleo Editions, pp. 400 to 403.
Catalogue Essay
Rolex has created some of the most surprising, beautiful and unusual watches for the Arab States in the Gulf. The manufacture's custom pieces date back to the 1950s, when Rolex fitted Arabic discs to the most luxurious Day-Date models.
Beginning of the 1970s, the United Arab Emirates and its seven Arab nations specially commissioned watches from Rolex to be given as gifts for high-ranking officials, foreign dignitaries, and diplomats. Today, they are coveted treasures sought after by collectors around the world.
One of the rarest of these commission pieces is the Cosmograph Daytona “Desert Eagle”, made upon special request for Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Emir of Dubai in the mid 1970s, this example was part of a small order of timepieces. The market has identified only a handful of watches fitted with this dial configuration, and all bear serial numbers close to each other.
Rendered in polychrome relief printing, the UAE emblem (the Quraysh Hawk) is emblazoned at 12 o’clock, with the signature of United Arab Emirates proudly displayed below. Above 6 o’clock is the signature of the Ministry of Defense (Wazarah Ad Difa’A) written in Arabic script. These graphics are all original and correct. Furthermore, the “Sigma” designation, indicating white gold markers, is also correct.
Interestingly this is one of the very rare instances where Rolex removed its name from the dial to make place for the “Quraysh Hawk”.
Whereas a few Rolex reference 6263 “Desert Eagle” have appeared previously on the auction market, this is, to the best of our knowledge, the very first time a reference 6265 example appears in an international auction room, the other known example was seen in Hodinkee’s “Talking Watches” with John Mayer.
Fresh to the market and part of a prominent European collection since the 1980s, the present watch’s ultimate rarity and attractive appearance places it amongst one of the most collectible Cosmograph Daytona models to be offered in recent years.
Founded in 1905 England by Hans Wilsdorf and Alfred Davis as Wilsdorf & Davis, it soon became known as the Rolex Watch Company in 1915, moving its headquarters to Geneva in 1919. Like no other company, the success of the wristwatch can be attributed to many of Rolex's innovations that made them one of the most respected and well-known of all luxury brands. These innovations include their famous "Oyster" case — the world's first water resistant and dustproof watch case, invented in 1926 — and their "Perpetual" — the first reliable self-winding movement for wristwatches launched in 1933. They would form the foundation for Rolex's Datejust and Day-Date, respectively introduced in 1945 and 1956, but also importantly for their sports watches, such as the Explorer, Submariner and GMT-Master launched in the mid-1950s.
One of its most famous models is the Cosmograph Daytona. Launched in 1963, these chronographs are without any doubt amongst the most iconic and coveted of all collectible wristwatches. Other key collectible models include their most complicated vintage watches, including references 8171 and 6062 with triple calendar and moon phase, "Jean Claude Killy" triple date chronograph models and the Submariner, including early "big-crown" models and military-issued variants.
