Watch Paparazzi

Royal Ammar bin Humaid Al Nuaimi spotted wearing Rolex

Crown Prince Ammar bin Humaid Al Nuaimi of Ajman, a ruler known for quiet elegance rather than horological showboating, was recently photographed wearing what appears to be a stainless steel Rolex Cosmograph Daytona ref. 6263 with a white 'Panda' dial — a combination that stops serious collectors cold.

The Rolex Cosmograph Daytona ref. 6263 was produced from roughly 1971 to 1987, occupying the final chapter of the manually wound Daytona era before Rolex introduced the automatic cal. 4030 in the ref. 16520. The 6263 is distinguished from its near-twin, the ref. 6265, by its screw-down pump pushers rather than the 6265's screw-down crown-and-pushers configuration. Both house the Valjoux 727 movement — a hand-wound column-wheel chronograph ebauche — beating at 18,000 vph inside a 37mm stainless steel case. The black bezel here is a Bakelite or acrylic insert, another hallmark of the reference's identity.

What elevates this particular example into stratospheric territory is the so-called 'Paul Newman' dial — a term collectors apply to the exotic, Art Deco-inflected dials featuring square-tipped hour markers, a distinctive font on the registers, and a secondary track inside each sub-dial. On a white 'Panda' dial variant with black sub-dials, every element of that formula aligns. These dials were originally considered garish; their subsequent transformation into the most desirable dials in vintage watchmaking is one of collecting's great ironies. Stainless steel examples with original, unrestored Paul Newman dials in clean condition are extraordinarily scarce.

Ammar bin Humaid Al Nuaimi, Crown Prince of Ajman, is one of the UAE's more culturally engaged royals, with interests spanning art, architecture, and heritage. His choice of a ref. 6263 over contemporary trophy pieces signals genuine collecting sensibility — this is not a watch you acquire at a brand boutique; it comes only through decades of relationships with specialist dealers and auction houses.

On the current market, an authentic stainless steel Rolex Cosmograph Daytona ref. 6263 Paul Newman in strong condition commands figures that dwarf most modern watches. Grey-market valuations for the finest examples approach and exceed $500,000 USD, a figure consistent with recent auction results at Phillips, Christie's, and Sotheby's for this reference. No official retail price exists — these pieces trade exclusively on the secondary market.