Sotheby’s to Sell Rolex Wristwatches owned by Rajendra Prasad and Konrad Adenauer

The Sotheby's November sale is spearheaded by two vintage Rolexes that belonged to leaders of the post‐World War II era.

In power during the changing times of the 1950s and early 1960s, the first Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, Konrad Adenauer and the first President of the Republic of India, Dr. Rajendra Prasad both set the foundations of new regimes and durably shaped the geopolitics of the 20th and 21st centuries.

Dr. Rajendra Prasad’s Rolex

The first of these pieces of history is an exceptionally rare and historical Rolex Oyster Perpetual, dating from circa 1948 and possibly presented to the first President of the Republic of India, Dr. Rajendra Prasad on the occasion of the inauguration of the Republic of India on 26 January 1950.

The dial of this 18K pink gold automatic sweep seconds wristwatch (ref. 3372) is decorated with the map of India in champlevé enamel4. The date inscribed on the dial ‐ 26 January 1950 ‐ attests that the present watch was most likely a celebratory gift commemorating India’s first Republic Day.

Estimated at CHF 200,000‐400,000 ($222,000‐444,000), this watch has never appeared on the market. It was commissioned together with a quasi‐similar watch in 1948 and delivered to the Rolex agent in Bombay in February 1949. The other watch (last sold by Sotheby’s Geneva in May 2003) was presented to the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru on the occasion of the inauguration of the Republic of India. It was accompanied by a letter stating that the other watch appeared to have been made for Dr Prasad.

An early member of the Indian National Congress, Dr. Prasad (1884‐1963) fought alongside Mahatma Ghandi for India’s independence from the British “Raj”. In charge of the food and agriculture in the interim government formed by Nehru in 1942, he became President of the Constituent Assembly, in charge of drafting the constitution of the future Democratic Republic of India in December 1946. Following the enactment of the Constitution on 26 January 1950, Dr. Prasad was elected the nation's first President, an office he served for 12 years until 1962.

Konrad Adenauer’s Rolex

Enjoying a similar illustrious provenance is Konrad Adenauer’s Rolex ‐ an exceptionally rare and historical Rolex that belonged to Konrad Adenauer. Presented to the German Chancellor in 1955, this historical 18K yellow gold automatic centre seconds wristwatch with date and bracelet (ref. 6305/1) has been by kept in its original condition by the Chancellor’s descendants and appears for the first time on the market with an estimate of CHF 60,000‐80,000/ $66,500‐89,000.

Engraved on the back with Konrad Adenauer’s name, this great piece of history is accompanied by its original leather folder and a letter dated 16 September 1955 from Rolex’s founder Hans Wilsdorf to the German Chancellor.

First chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, founding member of the German Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Konrad Adenauer (1876‐1967) presided over the reconstruction of his country after World War II and is today considered as one of the founding fathers of Europe. His 14 years at the head of West Germany, from 1949 to 1963, were crowned by many achievements in terms of domestic and foreign policy despite the division of Germany. In 1951, the country established a foreign office (with Adenauer himself as Minister of Foreign Affairs until 1955), achieved full membership in the Council of Europe and contributed to the creation of the European Coal & Steel Community. In 1952, Germany participated in the formation of the European Defense Community.

1955, the year when Adenauer received the present watch, is an important date in German history. After being integrated into Western defense structures and recovering full sovereignty in May 1955, the Federal Republic of Germany engaged in direct talks with the Soviet Union. On 13 September 1955, after Adenauer’s state visit in Moscow, the two countries agreed to resume full diplomatic relations and trade negotiations.

One of the last but not the least achievements of Chancellor Adenauer was to decisively advance the cause of German‐French friendship – a rapprochement that culminated with the Elysée Treaty in 1963. Owing much to the mutual confidence and personal friendship between Konrad Adenauer and French President Charles De Gaulle, these agreements not only sealed permanent reconciliation between the two states but also paved the way to the construction of Europe, a constant aspiration of Adenauer's visionary leadership.