Watch Paparazzi Logo
Watch Paparazzi
royalSpotted May 2023

Royal Ammar bin Humaid Al Nuaimi spotted wearing a Rolex

royal Ammar bin Humaid Al Nuaimi spotted wearing a Rolex
Who & what: DIW x Rolex Daytona 'Motley' Carbon Fiber Custom – Limited to 5 Pieces Worldwide

Sheikh Ammar bin Humaid Al Nuaimi, Crown Prince of the Emirate of Ajman, was recently photographed aboard what appears to be a private aircraft, his left wrist carrying one of the most aggressively customized Rolex Daytonas in existence. The watch in question is the DIW x Rolex Daytona 'Motley', a sold-out limited edition of just five numbered examples produced by Dubai-based customization atelier Dynasty & Industry Workshop — better known in collector circles as DIW.

DIW begins each build with a genuine Rolex Daytona base — here the reference 116500LN in stainless steel — and undertakes a comprehensive case conversion using aerospace-grade forged carbon fiber. The result is a fully restructured case and bezel that retains the iconic Daytona silhouette but sheds substantial weight while introducing a distinctive woven texture unique to each piece's carbon layup. The Calibre 4130 movement, Rolex's in-house column-wheel chronograph beating at 28,800 vph with a 72-hour power reserve, remains untouched beneath the reworked exterior — a deliberate choice that preserves mechanical integrity while radically altering the aesthetic proposition.

The 'Motley' designation derives from its dial treatment: a matte black base overlaid with vivid paint-splash graphics in red, yellow, green, and purple, with the three chronograph subdials finished in contrasting solid color pools. A NATO-style textile strap with multicolored accent stitching completes the visual language. The effect is deliberately confrontational for a Daytona — a reference whose collector base typically skews toward restraint — which is precisely what makes DIW's edition so polarizing and sought-after simultaneously.

Sheikh Ammar is a known patron of arts and culture within the UAE, and his choice to wear the 'Motley' while apparently attending or supporting an Alserkal Avenue MAMBA exhibition is characteristically coherent. The watch functions here less as a status symbol and more as a wearable art object — the kind of crossover positioning DIW has built its entire brand identity around.

With a retail price of $45,710 and secondary market demand dramatically outpacing supply given the five-piece production run, the 'Motley' has effectively become unobtainable through conventional channels. Grey-market valuations for comparable DIW carbon Daytona editions regularly breach the $60,000–$75,000 threshold, and the 'Motley' colorway, arguably the most visually distinctive in DIW's catalog, commands a premium even within that rarefied group.

More watches like this

Other celebrities spotted with the same brand, model or star