The Bao Dai Rolex once belonged to the last emperor of Vietnam, Prince Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thụy, or Bao Dai. Rolex produced several gold and black dial reference 6062s. However, the watch worn by Bao Dai is completely unique, right down to the exact orientation of the diamond hour markers. For this reason alone, it is highly collectible, having twice won the most expensive sale in Rolex history before the Paul Newman Daytona replaced it. It is an amazing watch with an even more fascinating history.
Before we dive into it, what is the Rolex 6062? Rolex launched the 6062 at Baselworld in 1950. at the time, it was the first triple calendar moon phase watch with a water-resistant case, preceded only by Ref. 8171, which did not have a water-resistant case. The only Rolex to acquire a unique moon-phase complication was the modern-day Cellini. The model 6062 came to market only a few years after the innovative replica Rolex Datejust featured the world’s first automatically changing date display. In fact, Baudet’s Rolex has several other complications on the dial in addition to the date, which is what we have come to expect from Rolex. For reference, the beloved Day-Date had two complications on the dial, the date and the date in full, and was not available until 1956.
The Rolex 6062 has all the usual elements of a classic Rolex watch, a 36mm Oyster water-resistant case, a perpetual calendar movement with self-winding technology, a traditional 5-piece link Jubilee strap, and the iconic Rolex 5-point crown proudly displayed on the dial. The case is fitted with a smooth bezel and an old-fashioned acrylic crystal. The 655 caliber, a Rolex in-house movement also known as the Super Balance cal.9.75, features the day and month in two windows above centrally mounted hands, a moon phase indicator above 6 o’clock, and a hand dedicated to the date, which points to the calendar in gold lettering that encircles the dial track.
Looking more closely at the dial, the OCC logo, or “Officially Certified Chronometer,” is printed inside the moon phase register. Rolex produced three black-dialed Rolex 6062s, including the Baudelaire. However, while the diamonds on the other two replica watches are located on the odd hour markers, the Emperor’s Rolex has diamonds on the even hour markers and gold arrow markers on the odd hour markers. Interestingly, Rolex has moved the crown, which normally occupies the position of the 12-hour markers, down to make room for the diamonds. This dial layout is unique to the Rolex by Bao Dai and makes it one of the most important watches produced by the Grand Crown.