A Rolex Engraved with the Signature of Ferdinand Marcos Sr. is Up for Auction
If you know your history, you’d understand the significance of the Rolex brand as it pertained to the administration of former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. The story goes that, in the early 1970s, the then-Chief Executive gifted some of his most trusted and loyal supporters and advisers with luxury timepieces. While there are those who insist the anecdote is apocryphal, a newly surfaced item up for sale at Leon Gallery’s upcoming Mid-Year Auction seems to lend veracity to the oft-told tale.
Rolex Oyster Perpetual Day-Date in 18k gold
A Rolex Oyster Perpetual Day-Date is one of two historical lots going under the block next month. Made in 18-karat yellow gold, the timepiece is, in itself, a rare and prized item for hardcore collectors, but what makes it even more valuable is the inscription on its back: the engraved signature of President Marcos Sr.
Engraved signature of former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr.
According to Leon Gallery, the timepiece comes “from the personal collection of a close friend and confidante of the former President, during the time when the Rolex increasingly became a symbol of power and inner-circle membership within the Marcos administration.”
Former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. and his wife First Lady Imelda Marcos
“This Rolex Day-Date, therefore, is more than just a luxury item but a tangible piece of Philippine history. It is a reminder of a complex and turbulent era, a period that is both controversial and undeniably crucial in the nation’s story,” Leon Gallery adds. “To own one is to own a piece of the past.”
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The other relic in the auction is far less controversial but perhaps just as or even more valuable: a Butuan dagger with a gold hilt. Dating back to the 10th to the 13th centuries, the dagger is considered a great treasure not just because of what it is made of but for its provenance.
Butuan dagger with a gold hilt
In ancient times, before the arrival of the Spaniards, gold was a relatively abundant commodity in the country, used for both decorative and ceremonial purposes. Ferdinand Magellan’s official chronicler Antonio Pigafetta even wrote about how he witnessed local tribesmen wearing gold earrings, spots of gold in their teeth, and even weapons accessorized with gold.
Detail of the gold hilt in the dagger
While there is no evidence that Magellan reached what was then the Kingdom of Butuan, what is certain is that gold was an important element in the territory’s culture and economy. Historical records show that local chieftains had access to gold and displayed them proudly in items such as diadems, necklaces, and bracelets, and even used them in funerary practices such as in golden masks and orifice covers.
Pre-colonial Filipinos in rich silks and gold, from the Boxer Codex, 16th-c manuscript now in the Lilly Library, USA
The Butuan dagger in the auction block could certainly have been the prized possession of one of the Kingdom’s chieftains. The dagger is even featured in the famed Boxer Codex, which is a late-16th-century Spanish manuscript detailing the lives of the people in China, the Philippines, Japan, Java, the Moluccas, the Ladrones, and Siam. According to Leon Gallery, two illustrations in the codex show the hilt of the dagger.
“Two Tagalog couples, one a part of the royalty and the other of the noble class, were depicted with the dagger placed around the men’s waists as they converse with each other,” Leon Gallery says.
Two items made of gold from two entirely different periods in Philippine history. Fancy making a bid?
León Gallery’s 2025 The Spectacular Mid-Year Auction will be held on Saturday, 13 September 2025, at 2 PM. Preview exhibit will run from September 6 to September 12, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., at G/F Eurovilla 1, Rufino corner Legazpi Streets, Legazpi Village, Makati City.
