Dr. Rajendra Prasad's Rolex

Dr. Rajendra Prasad was an Indian independence activist, lawyer, scholar and the first President of India. Prasad was a supporter of Mahatma Gandhi, and was imprisoned by the British during the Salt Satyagraha of 1931 and the Quit India movement of 1942. Upon India’s independence in 1947, Prasad was elected as the President of the Constituent Assembly of India, which prepared the Indian Constitution and served as a provisional parliament. He would become President in 1950 when India was established as a Republic.

On the first constitutional day of the new Republic of India, January 26, 1950, Prasad received this 18k gold Rolex Oyster Perpetual, featuring a map of India as well as the date of Republic Day. Two were made, with the other meant to go to Prime Minister Jawaharial Nehru.

The watch was sold by Rolex’s Bombay agent in 1949. The variation owned by Prime Minister Nehru was sold in 1993 and again in 2003 by Sotheby’s Geneva.

Prasad’s Rolex was stolen from the Sadaqat Ashram, a former residence of Prasad that is now a museum, in 1964 (according to Prasad’s granddaughter). The watch reappeared in Geneva in 2011, presented by Sotheby’s in a lineup of important watches belonging to famous leaders. While it was valued at between $200,000 and $450,000, Sotheby’s would not be allowed to sell the watch after the Government of India filed an inquiry asking for the auction house to provide further information on the provenance of the watch.