Yemen Coat of Arms Universal Genève Polerouter

This one is just a bit special. I have said on many occasions that the base Polerouter makes an exceptional entry point to vintage for its Genta design, engineering innovation, and massively-diverse variation. Today, I have the pleasure of featuring a watch very decidedly in the ‘experts-only’ UG territory. Polerouters simply do not get rarer or more nuanced. This 1957 35mm 18K pink gold case sports the Arabian peninsula and Yemen Coat of Arms across its dial, one of just handful known to the market.

The series were commissioned by King Ahmad bin Yahya Hamidaddin who reigned in Yemen from 1948 to 1962. The interest is largely regional, though those with a deeper curiosity may want to brush up on history. It appears his time was characterized by a less than benevolent reign, with quite a few interesting historical detours. That’s not for me comment, I have zero expertise. But I do love that Polerouter just helped me learn about 1950s Yemen. The dial is not only unique in its color and coat of arms, but the chapter ring sports engraved Arabic-Indic numerals. That’s just an extra layer of story to an already saturated work of art. I only known of one other example in recent sale. This one appears better to my eye.

The example shown today presents very well. The case is not heavily scarred, the dial still perfectly and appropriately colored from what I can tell for what these are supposed to look like. Certainly not worn frequently. A correct box with crest is included. It comes from a small retailer dedicated to the rarer pieces in Qatar.

Find this Yemeni Polerouter here from The Rare Room for 84500 QAR (~23K USD).