ROLEX | GMT-MASTER II, REFERENCE 1675, A YELLOW GOLD DUAL TIME ZONE WRISTWATCH WITH DATE AND UAE QURAYSH HAWK DIAL, MADE FOR MOHAMMED BIN RASHID AL MAKTOUM, CIRCA 1972

The GMT Master was created by Rolex in the second half of the 1950s in collaboration with Pan Am and issued by the airline to its crews on long-haul flights enabling them to read a second time zone on their timepiece.

In the 1970s, the government of the UAE commissioned special editions of the GMT-Master 1675 furnished with custom-made dials featuring the national coat of arms and either “Ministry of Defense” or this Emir's name written in Arabic on the right of the crest. The national emblem of the UAE, also referred to as the “Qurayash Hawk”, is featured prominently on the brown matt dial just above the 6 o’clock hour marker. The hawk, or falcon, is particularly significant in Emirati culture as falconry, the practice of using a hawk or falcon to catch prey in the desert, it is a very important part of their tradition. On the chest of the bird lies a red circle depicting a picture of a dhow, which was the sailboat of choice throughout the history of that geographical area, and below the talons of the hawk we see “United Arab Emirates” written in Arabic on a red banner.

Some of this special edition GMT-Master 1675 were issued to the helicopter pilots serving in the country’s military, while some of the watches were gifted by government officials to people who had served the nation of the UAE in some official capacity. The present watch is in nice crisp condition features the ruler of Dubai's signature to the right of the Hawk, other examples more commonly feature the Arabic script for the Ministry of Defense.