Meet the Man Who Built the World’s Greatest Rolex CPO Program
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While in Dubai last month for the launch of the Seddiqi’s impossibly lavish Rolex Certified Pre-Owned boutique, I sat down with the company’s chief commercial officer, Mohammed Abdulmagied Seddiqi, to learn more about how he and his family assembled this remarkable collection of over 300 Rolexes. We also shot an additional 55 Rolex watches in Dubai, which you can see here.
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This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
Where did the idea to create such an incredible [Rolex] CPO program come from?
Okay, so when Rolex announced the RCPO [Rolex Certified Pre-Owned Program], we got excited about it, and directly we contacted them and told them that we would like to onboard this new adventure. And since then, it’s been over two years that we’ve been hunting down watches—me and my cousin Mohammed.
Looking at the global Rolex CPO program, we realized that most of the people who are working with the RCPO are focusing on professional models [meaning, tool watches like the Submariner and GMT Master], knowing that there is a big demand for them in the secondary market. We thought that we had to do something totally different. And because of the history of the Day-Dates in the region dating back to the ‘60s with the Hindi numerals—and with the gem-set pieces—we thought, why not focus on the Day-Dates? They’re rarer than the professional models, they’re more artistic pieces, and they’re totally different.
And the thing is, if we look at the professional models, Rolex are still doing it [the same way, though] obviously with a major upgrade or an uplift of the models. Whereas the Day-Dates, you can find some models that are gem-set, or with the stone dials, or with gem dials that don’t exist anymore. So, we thought that this would attract a new clientele to come and discover what Seddiqui is offering at the Rolex Certified Pre-Owned boutique.
So, why were the Day-Dates so popular here [in the U.A.E.] in the ‘60s?
Well, after the ‘50s, when they named the Day-Date “The President” after the president of the U.S. wore it, I think it became a cult watch here in the region, and people started buying it. I remember my grandfather and my father were telling me when they got Audemars Piguet that a steel watch was more expensive than a gold Day-Date. So, people always valued the Day-Date because of its function. It was a practical watch. It has the day and the date, and it was an automatic. The size [36 mm] was good. It had character. People recognized it. So, people just loved it.
And you had the option always of the gold, white gold, platinum. And then you had the diamond pieces. You had the non-diamond pieces, and a big, vast combination of dials as well. So, I think people during that period, didn’t have…a luxurious watch brand that offered all these variations. So, I think that’s the reason why people ended up buying a lot of Day-Dates.
Is the Day-Date still popular today here in Dubai?
Oh, yes. A few years ago, along with Rolex, we worked on coming up with the Day-Dates with the Hindi numerals, which is exclusive to the Middle East. And if it wasn’t popular, I don’t think Rolex would have accepted to do that for us. With the popularity [of those Day-Dates] they came up with the 36 mm this year. So yes, it is still popular. People are still looking out for these pieces. We do have a waiting list on them, so that’s a good sign.
Are people in Dubai interested in vintage Rolex, in vintage Day-Dates, or neo-vintage ones, or do they tend to want new models?
Well, Dubai is a global city, so you have people who tend to go for new pieces. And we see through auction houses that more and more people from the region and from Dubai are purchasing vintage Rolexes, as well. So it’s an important base for clients to have an option of some watches.
Secondly, with the showroom that we have today here, people would come in and ask for some watches that are not available, whereas the CPO will always be readily available. And that opens a new door for clients to discover and enter into the vintage world as well.
What was the biggest challenge in putting this collection together and getting it ready for sale?
The biggest challenge was to hunt down the watches. To find watches in the condition that we have was a challenge by itself—to find, to curate a collection that is totally different.
We’ve been working with the brand for so many years, and it’s been the first time that we’ve seen some of these pieces. Obviously, my father and my uncle, when we show them, they say, “Ah, yes, we remember this piece. We had it.” But for us, the challenge was to really to hunt down the pieces in the condition that they are in.
How did you find them? Did you go to collectors, families, estate sales? How did you get all of these?
Everywhere except auction houses.Of course, we hunted down watches through clients that were willing to sell the watches. We explained to them that we are working on a new program under Rolex, which is the RCPO. We went to collectors around the world. We went to the secondary market to hunt down some watches.
But again, the challenge wasn’t only to get the watches, but to make sure that the watches were in good condition and not reported stolen. Parts are not changed. Dials are not changed. So, it was really challenging. We always had to get the watch through a full checkup in our service center, Swiss Watch Service in Dubai. Based on that, we either purchased the watch or returned the watch. With the quantity of watches that we got, I think more than 60 percent were returned because they had some issues.
It seems like it was a big investment and of time, energy, money, and all of that. Do you feel that sustaining the RCPO program over time is doable for you?
Well, we’ve been in the watch business, hopefully next year, celebrating 75 years. And I believe if anyone will do it in Dubai and the region, it will be us. Maybe this can be a start to look into the certified pre owned for Rolex, but maybe in the future we can look into other brands, as well. If the brands are open to this thing, we can see brands such as F.P. Journe or MB&F, they’re doing their certified pre-owned online. They’re selling it on their online platform.
Yes, it costs a lot. Yes, it takes a lot of time, effort, money, but at the end of the day, as long as we can provide to our consumers and clients a certified, pre owned, authentic timepiece, this will give them credibility and [help them] trust more in the vintage market.
Do you feel that you’ll be able to continue finding watches of this caliber?
Well, we still didn’t stop hunting for watches. So even with what we have, we didn’t take a break. We’re still going, me and [my cousin] Mohammed on a daily basis. Whatever pictures we get, or offers we get, we share with each other, then we share it with the team to see if the price is reasonable enough to purchase it, and then we check with the Swiss Watch Service. How much would it cost us to service? How long would it take? Because we don’t want to waste time. Looking at where the collection that we have today, I believe that is going to move fast.
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