Dubai collector finds out watch he bought was Saudi king’s gift to UAE’s Sheikh Zayed

A Dubai-based collector found out that a vintage watch he purchased from an auction in Europe was in fact gifted by late Saudi King Saud Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud to the UAE’s founding father Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan.

“The wristwatch, a gold-plated Universal Genève, was manufactured in 1955 and has a silver dial with applied gold hour markers and the coat-of-arms of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia printed in black just below the 12 o’ clock marker,” the Dubai-based Gulf News reported this week.

“The dial also features an Arabic signature which translates to ‘Saud’, a reference to the Saudi King who ruled the country from 1953 to 1964. Powered by the manufacture caliber UG 332, the movement, case and dial are signed Universal Genève,” the report added.