The Khanjar Dial Edition

This went out behind the paywall back in June, but sharing to our wider crew as it is one of my recent favorites. -CJN

Colin here. Several years ago, I was sat at a dinner party next to an interesting Hong Kong business tycoon. We started talking about watches—I was in my early phases of understanding, and started to buy a few vintage pieces. He sternly told me to stop, it wasn’t worth it. Do not pass go. A world of pain and ruin awaits. It was said sort-of playfully, but also with serious caution. This was a man who had been to the true depth of the rabbit hole, and parted with loads of cash to feed his addiction. He was warning me off what could be a lifetime finance suck.

Cut to today. Thankfully, I haven’t gotten too far out of control, opting to wear and pay attention to stuff I just find interesting, be it a beat up old Timex Ironman with a backstory, a compelling Tudor dive watch, or some Seikos like the Willard. But one higher-end curiosity has caught my eye: Omani Khanjar dial watches. The Khanjar is a curved blade, but also a potent symbol in Omani culture—these watches have a small logo of the blades on them. These “Khanjar dial” watches, ranging from Audemars Piguets, to Rolex Submariners, to opulent gold Datejusts, and others, were given by the late Sultan Qaboos to friends of Oman. Some were given to soldiers, some to pilots who flew the Sultan, and some for a “good on ya” type recognition. For me, it’s the perfect Venn Diagram between royalty, geopolitics and horology. A wormhole quickly emerged.

Why is this interesting?

GQ goes deeper.

Recipients of these special pieces included members of the British Armed Forces, which helped the Sultanate consolidate power from the 1950s onwards. Of particular note are those presented to SAS soldiers for their help in quelling the Dhofar uprising in the 1970s. Other watches, however, were given simply in recognition of a service rendered. In 2017 Christie’s sold a Rolex Daytona with a green khanjar that had been gifted to an English pilot who flew the Sultan from Muscat to Rome for a state visit. “Shortly before landing his aircraft at Ciampino airport, one of the Sultan’s ministers entered the cockpit. Holding out a small, cream and green box before him, he explained that he had been charged with proffering ‘a little present from the Sultan’,” reported Christie’s specialist Sabine Kegels on the auction house’s website. “Our pleasantly surprised pilot told me how he took possession of the gift, delivered his passengers safely to Ciampino and then returned to London that same day. When he arrived he duly declared his new watch at customs, and paid £10 to cover import duty and tax.” Decades later, it realized £600,000 at auction.

Khanjar dial watches are still given out today, albeit with an engraved case back rather than anything overt on the dial, a more subtle touch, really only known to the wearer. But, given my love of Oman, and the rarity and sheer interestingness of these watches, it seems I’m on a new hunt—though perhaps it would be better to actually earn one from Omani royalty. Whichever is quicker. (CJN)