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Saddam Hussein's watch up for grabs at Dubai show

Dubai Watch Week to see auction of watches pre-owned by collectors and dignitaries.

Many of the watches that will go under the hammer during the Dubai Watch Week have been pre-owned by collectors and even important dignitaries. There is even one watch that was previously owned by Saddam Hussein. A Patek Philippe white gold automatic wristwatch with the Iraqi coat of arms is believed to have been given to a foreign ambassador (perhaps even one from the United States) by the dictator. He was well-known for giving watches as gifts to diplomats as a goodwill gesture. Archives have confirmed that the watch was produced in 1975, when Hussein was the de-facto head of Iraq. (He formally became President in 1979.)
The watch has the Iraqi Eagle on its dial, and will come with a travel case and an original Patek Philippe box, with the estimated price for the lot at between Dh37,000 and 55,000.
Of course, if a Saddam Hussein vintage timepiece is not the piece of history you are looking for, there is also fine and rare Universal that was made for Saudi Arabia's late King Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. So you really wear a piece of Middle Eastern history on your wrist.
Dubai Watch Week (DWW), October 18 to 22 at DIFC, has crossed the half way point. This is the first time Dubai is playing home to an international non-commercial watch event.
Organised by the 65-year-old watch retailer Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons - the most important retailer of timepieces in the region - the event is also backed by the Grand Prix d'Horologerie de Genève.
DWW 2015 takes place under the patronage of Shaikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-Chairperson of Dubai Culture & Arts Authority, and is supported by the Dubai Culture & Arts Authority. Today, British Auction House Christie's will hold a watch auction showcasing 160 watches. Rolexes, Omegas, Cartiers and Piagets, will go under the hammer at one most important watch auction ever to be held.
Two Hublots are being touted as the key pieces at the auction - the limited Hublot Dubai editions of the Vision I and Vision II timepieces. Designed by Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons and engineered in the workshops of Hublot in Switzerland in 2008, The Vision - I is Hublot's first Titanium watch in history with a rose-gold applied numerals and gold screws.
"The Vision" was developed and named as a tribute to the foresight and acumen of His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. The Vision - II, a titanium watch with striking rose gold Arabic numerals is again developed by Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons and engineered in the workshops of Hublot.
The money raised from these watches will be donated to Dubai Cares, an organisation that has so far made a difference in the lives of more than 14 million beneficiaries in 41 developing countries by providing education to under privileged children.
reporters@khaleejtimes.com