A true collectable! The Khanjar 'Panda' Rolex Daytona 116500LN

Rolex Cosmograph Daytona “Khanjar” 

Im pretty sure you’ve heard the phrase “Business at the front, party in the back” except usually it references hair styles and not a Rolex Daytona. 

This Panda Daytona, ref 116500 is already one we know and love.
Its 904L stainless steel, 40mm diameter, 46.3mm lug-to lug, 12.3mm thick with a solid link Oyster bracelet, 100m water resistance and running the venerable chronograph movement, Rolex calibre 4130. I won’t go much further into the architecture, as this is such a well known watch we could all probably recite its facts and figures before we’ve even had a morning coffee.
Its an icon. 

Thats not all that this particular watch is though, because if we flip to the caseback, it displays the “Khanjar”, which is the national crest of Oman and an iconic symbol in the world of watches. 

Made up of a dagger on a belt sitting above two swords, the Khanjar was introduced by the late Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said and made its apperarance as the centrepiece of the country’s new flag in 1970 when he had overthrown his father Sultan bin Taimur with the help of the British in a coup d’etat. 

Sultan Quaboos attended private school in Bury St Edmunds before moving to the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. He went on to serve in the British army.
On his return to Oman, his father placed him under house arrest in 1966 where he remained until 1970 before overthrowing his father and exiling him to London. 

The coup was a pivotal moment in modern Omani history as Qaboos swiftly set in motion numerous wide-ranging modernisation reforms in the sultanate, transforming Oman from an underdeveloped and isolated place with a lot of internal unrest into a country on par with many Western states in terms of political stability and economic development. 

Obviously, that is a very potted history, but one which highlights the link between Sultan Qaboos and the UK, particularly London, which was where he was introduced through friends to John Asprey, of “Asprey” luxury goods fame.
Founded in 1781 the company is still in operation today supplying high end jewellery, leather goods, and silverware etc under the Royal Warrant, which it was awarded in 1862 by Queen Victoria who named it “The Queens Gift Shop”. Asprey was and still is an emporium loved and well attended by both European and Middle Eastern royalty and dignitaries. 

It was through his relationship with John Asprey, that Sultan Qaboos realised the power of crests, coats of arms, warrants and above all, branding. 

It was this epiphany that led him to develop Oman’s magesterial crest, and more to the point, use it as a powerful advertising tool by co-branding luxury goods with the Khanjar to spread recognition and credibility to the newly blossoming Oman. 

John Asprey was central to this, as it was the Asprey association that gave Sultan Qaboos access to some of the most established brands in the world, including Rolex and Patek Philippe. 

As a by-product of his friendship with Asprey, Sultan Qaboos became one of the most prolific watch collectors of the 20th century who gifted many “Khanjar” signed watches to vistors, dignitaries, royalty, diplomats, or even waiting staff to thank them for their serivce iif he had enjoyed a particularly good meal.
It was his way of showing generosity and appreciation whilst also raising positivity and awareness of his country. 

It was a perfect exercise in advertising.

Most of the time, it was Asprey, and in later years Omani retailers with permission of the government such as AD Khimji Ramdas, who applied the logo to watches as the retailer. 

It’s worth noting at this point that the Khanjar is a protected emblem, and using it without express permission can result in imprisonment for 3 years.

While usually retailer applied, some models do exist where archive extracts note that the Khanjar had been applied in the brands workshops which is highly unusual as it is virtually unheard of for powerful brands such as Rolex or Patek to adapt dials or move their own text in order to “make way” for a third party signature. 
As a result, brand modified dials are at the Zenith of Khanjar collections.

Both Rolex modified and retailer dial stamped Daytona’s exist.
On some, the Rolex text has been removed to accomodate the crest beneath the crown at 12, on others, it has been applied beneath the Rolex signature.
Khanjar dialled Rolex havent been seen since the turn of the century as they were replaced (seemingly permanently) by models that had the engraving on the caseback instead. 

This particular Daytona was produced towards the end of 2017 and hails from an Omani AD, so is likely to be one of the last few Khanjar models produced prior to the death of Sultan Qaboos in 2020. 

The Sultan was a watch lover and collector right up until the end, and one who gifted many special watches over the years.
This is one of them.