“Rolex’s willingness to tailor its watches to the specific needs and tastes of its clientele in order to increase sales to an emerging luxury market” was the rationale behind such Arabic dials, explains Eric Ku, a noted vintage Rolex specialist and owner of San Francisco-based 10PastTen (or follow him on Instagram). One of the notable pioneers was Rolex, which offered special dials with Arabic numerals as early as the late 1950s on Day-Date watches. Journe, MB&F, as well as De Bethune.īut such dials are not actually a new phenomenon. Popular brands like Zenith, Bovet and Graham followed suit, as well as independent watchmakers like F.P. Hublot’s success encouraged watch brands to come up with their own interpretation of Arabic dials. And Instagram sensation Watchanish receiving one for his birthday while on a trip to Dubai spurred demand even more. Rolex Day-Date 40 Middle East started the Arabic number revival (yes, they were popular once upon a time – we’ll get to that in a bit) in 2013 with a beautiful titanium Classic Fusion with a grey dial and rose gold-plated Arabic numerals.Ĭreated by the Middle East’s watch retailing giant, Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons, and Hublot, the series was limited to 100 pieces and disappeared quicker than a dozen unattended Hermes Birkins on a shelf.
For that reason, such numerals are sometimes described as “Arabic script” numerals in watch auction catalogues, and hereafter known simply as “Arabic”. Today Eastern Arabic numerals are widely used with the Arabic alphabet in the east of the Arab world, namely the wealthy, oil producers of the Arabian Gulf. Over time they were adopted by the Arabs and then in the West, evolving into the Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3 and so on) that are commonly used today. Of all the editions made for the Middle East, the most popular watches – some have even gone viral on social media – are the ones with Eastern Arabic numerals for the hours, often labelled as “Arabic dials”.Įastern Arabic numerals, sometimes known as Arabic-Indic numbers, are symbols descended from the Hindu-Arabic numeral system, invented some 1600 years ago by Indian mathematicians. Limited edition watches designed especially for the Middle East, particularly the Gulf countries, have been a favourite of watchmakers in recent years with growing demand for fine watches in the region. Facebook Linkedin Twitter Pinterest Weibo Mail Instagram
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