UAE Ministry of Defence 1675 Rolex GMT-Master

Middle Eastern dials are not all equal. They’re all fantastically interesting, from UAE Armed Forces Datejusts to Oman Day-Dates or even Syrian Explorer IIs, all of these watches call back to a time in Rolex when the brand was more personable and willing to go more than the extra mile for their very best clients. Most of the signatures went to Oman. And the majority of signed dials are on Datejusts or Day-Dates. But professional steel sport models weren’t exempt, just rare. This is a 1675, everyone’s favorite four-digit travel buddy, but made for Royal Armed Forces. The print to the right hand side of the enameled Quraysh Hawk is that of Wazarah Ad Difa’A, the UAE Ministry of Defence.

Where many signed Rolex in the Middle East were often given as gifts to foreign dignitaries or high-up government employees, lore holds that these GMT-Masters, those with the MoD’s signature to the right of the hawk, went mostly to UAE Air Force helicopter pilots. Produced from roughly 1971-1979, the GMT connection here is likely more than skin deep. There are other iterations of this hawk signature on 1675s that feature Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s signature to the right and those are thought to have been the watches destined for friends of the ruling family directly. Though none of this is truly definite, more than one has surfaced with documents supporting helo provenance. But there are other paths. One came up from an SAS member turned trainer for the Dubai Royal Guard Regiment paratroopers. Another came from a Royal Navy Clearance Diver who worked as a contractor later in the gulf.

The last auction of this signature variant was by Phillips in 2018, where a black-bezel variant hammered at 254K USD. Then one came up from Watches of Knightsbridge in 2023 at 140K USD which was a find then. Generally speaking, these Ministry of Defence dials are the more desirable, the dial is lesser seen and the story is just more interesting to most. But any hawk on a 1675 is an occasion. And one has to admire not only the generous culture of giving in Dubai which led to the Sheikh’s and government’s frequent Rolex gifts, but the actual taste in Rolex of the Emir himself. I can’t imagine a more desirable reward for a badass helo pilot or commander than this. It’s not so much a watch as it is a direct line to a specific time, place, and era of Rolex. Something that should be cherished for generations.

This example has a fantastic case and dial condition. The signature is correct and lovely, its bezel lightly ghosted. The tritium has aged to a deep honey/cream tone with no visible damage. Interestingly, the base of the red GMT pointer hand must’ve had a slight scratch as the paint stops unevenly a bit before you’d expect it to usually. That’s really the only thing off I can find, which is more than a compliment. It comes from a well-regarded California retailer.