Indian government is selling a Rolex for ₹16.5 lakh. No, seriously
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Indian government is selling a Rolex for ₹16.5 lakh. No, seriously")
Image for representation Photograph: (Freepik)
For the first time, India’s Ministry of External Affairs is publicly auctioning nearly 300 luxury diplomatic gifts from its Toshakhana vault, including Rolex watches, silver antiques, and gold jewellery.
Imagine scrolling through an auction and finding… a Rolex once gifted to the Indian government. Not a replica. Not a collector’s copy. An actual Rolex that ended up inside India’s ultra-exclusive Toshakhana - the government vault where expensive gifts from foreign leaders and dignitaries are stored.
And now, for the first time ever, you can bid on it. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has thrown open the doors to its diplomatic treasure chest, putting nearly 300 gifts up for public auction.
The collection is a mix of luxury, royalty and the downright unexpected.
There’s a Rolex Yacht Master II with a starting price of ₹16.5 lakh. A silver dagger from Oman. A silver tea set crafted in London. An Apple MacBook Pro. Gold jewellery. Decorative artefacts. Antique boxes. Even a silver case that once served as an elegant cigar box. The Rolexes have, unsurprisingly, become the stars of the auction. Both watches have already attracted more than a dozen bids, with the top offer climbing to nearly ₹16.8 lakh.
Then there’s the auction’s surprise hit - an antique silver box dating back to the 1980s. It opened at just ₹12,030, but bidders clearly saw something special. After nearly 30 bids, the price has shot past ₹52,000.
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Another eye-catching lot features a decorative silver box guarded by two gold-plated dragons and carrying a 20-gram Swiss gold biscuit. It has already crossed the ₹4 lakh mark after multiple bids.
Oddly enough, not everything dripping in gold has found a fan. A ₹9.5 lakh gold jewellery set from Kuwait, complete with a necklace, bracelet and earrings, is still waiting for its first bidder.
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The auction, which began on June 8, will end on June 30. According to officials, this is the first-ever public e-auction of items from the MEA’s Toshakhana, made possible under the revised Toshakhana Rules, 2024.
The gifts were received over the years by senior MEA officials - including Foreign Secretaries - during official visits abroad. Instead of gathering dust behind government doors, they’re now looking for new owners.
