Emblazoned on the dial at 6 o’clock is the “Khanjar”, the national emblem of Oman that features a traditional Khanjar-type dagger used for ceremonial occasions. When found on a Rolex watch, it signifies a royal provenance. Such watches, referred to as “Khanjar” by collectors, were made on commission from the Sultan of Oman, His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said al Said. With his own formidable watch collection, His Majesty’s passion for horology is well known. They were given as gifts to loyal servants and foreign dignitaries.Born in 1940, and ascending to the throne at age 30 following studies under the President of India and military training at the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst, England, his reign has been one of great success. With revenues received from oil sales, he drove transformational advances in healthcare, education, and infrastructure. Watches with the Khanjar are extremely sought after. Due to their exceptional rarity, few have appeared on the market.Phillips is proud and delighted to offer, for the first time ever at auction, what is amongst the rarest of all versions of the Rolex Sea Dweller. With its distinguished Gold Khanjar at 6 o’clock on the dial, it is amongst the rarest of all Khanjar watches known to exist.In the 1970s, to recognize the role that Britain’s elite special forces branch, the SAS, played in defeating the Dhofar Rebellion, His Majesty Al Said commissioned very limited batches of Rolex Sea Dwellers with either a red Khanjar, red ‘Qaboos’ dial script, and rarest of all, a Gold Khanjar. It’s believed the red color, as used in the Omani flag, symbolizes battles against invaders – a theme that is in accordance with the British soldiers who served to protect his nation.The gold color signifies an object of utmost importance, used to represent the Sultan himself. Whereas approximately 80 to 90 Sea Dwellers with red Omani text are estimated to have been made, only between 9 and 12 Sea Dwellers are believed to exist with a gold Khanjar. Until now, only four of these watches have surfaced, most falling within a very narrow serial range spanning just 10 numbers.In addition to the Gold Khanjar, the dials on these watches exhibit other variations not seen on any other Sea-Dweller. The coronet at 12 o’clock is of a unique shape whilst the hour markers contain no luminous materials.This particular example is in exceptional condition. With no signs of ever having been polished, the sharp bevels, angles and curves are perfectly preserved, as it originally left Rolex’s factory. The dial is flawless, with perfectly white markers, printed with the identical ink used for the coronet and ‘Rolex’ logo at 12 o’clock. The ‘Rolex’ logo is horizontally engraved on its caseback, consistent with the casebacks found on “Double Red” Sea-Dwellers produced during the same era. The inner side of the caseback is engraved with the same serial number stamped between the lugs at 6 o’clock, indicating that this watch was indeed made by Rolex upon special order.Furthermore, it is accompanied by multiple confirmation papers from Rolex Geneva that include an International Service Guarantee and an original service invoice mentioning the special dial.Its historical significance, royal provenance, immaculate condition, and superb rarity make it one of the most exciting and important Rolex sport watches to appear at auction in recent years.