Bound by time. (Photo credit: Tareq Wasmi)
When Jean-Frédéric Dufour appeared with Abdul Hamied Seddiqi on opening day of Dubai Watch Week last Wednesday, the media lenses were trained on the Rolex CEO’s wrist. Watch magazine Hodinkee and Getty Images, a global provider of licensed photos for the media, published close-ups of the platinum Land-Dweller with an ice-blue dial that Dufour had on. But few realized it was Seddiqi who had the more special Rolex.
The Chairman of Seddiqi Holding was wearing a piece gifted by Rolex to mark the 75th anniversary of the first Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons boutique, opened in 1950 in Old Dubai. The platinum Day-Date with a puzzle dial was customized with a date wheel showing “75” and an engraving that read: “1950–2025. 75 Years of Success. Congratulations from the Rolex Family.” According to Tareq Wasmi, who revealed the piece at Dubai Watch Week on Sunday, only one example was made with that date wheel.
It is hard to overstate the importance of the relationship the brand has built with the Seddiqi family, whose humble beginnings trace back to selling watches from a single cabinet, pieces they had bought in small quantities from Bahrain, India and Kuwait. Today, Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons owns the largest Rolex boutique in the world and is the largest distributor of watches in the Middle East. Dubai Watch Week, the biennial event organized by the Seddiqi family, is the only fair outside Watches and Wonders that Rolex is willing to participate in.