FOUND: Syrian Dictator Hafez Al-Assad's Personal Vintage Rolex Sea-Dweller
Remember Eric Ku? He's the vintage Rolex dealer we interviewed over the summer who, while owning and operating a bakery outside San Francisco, also happens to travel the world searching for the world's great timepieces belonging to, occasionally, great men. But, for every great man that owned a Rolex, there was a man who made some, how do we put this, questionable decisions?
Syrian dictator Hafez Al-Assad ruled the arab nation from 1970 through 2000, and while he invested heavily in infrastructure, education, medicine, literacy and urban construction, he also committed several heinous acts against his own people. We won't go into the details of all that, but needless to say, Assad had his fair share of (rightful) detractors.
Assad was something of a watch man, actually. In fact, we've shown you a Rolex (an Explorer II) that belonged to him before. Here, Eric has found a vintage Sea-Dweller (Ref 1665) that Assad himself wore for several years. Then, on Ramadan 1979, Assad was so pleased with his chef that he gave the man the Sea-Dweller right off his wrist, complete with his signature applied in red, just like the Explorer II above.
The watch is in original condition with a nicely aged dial, though there are a few minor oil stains (not that anyone buying this watch would care about that.). Along with the watch will come a letter from Mr. Jalil Ali (Assad's chef and owner of the watch) as well as an autographed picture of Hafez Al-Assad.
http://www.hodinkee.com/blog/2011/12/28 ... rolex.html