Swiss gold watch with polychrome enamel portrait Circa 1928

Gold and enamel hunting cased keyless lever 
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A very fine and historically important Swiss 18 carat gold and enamel hunting cased keyless pocket watch with polychrome enamel portrait of Rastafari Emperor Haile Selassie made by Omega in Bienne and Geneva, circa 1928. The rhodium plated movement with 17 jewels, a straight line lever escapement, cut bimetallic compensation balance, blued steel Breguet balance spring and an index regulator. White enamel dial with bold Roman hour numerals, an outer minute track, subsidiary seconds at 6 o’clock, a gilt emblem of the Lion of Judah below 12 and original gold spade hands. The solid case with on the front cover a central blue enamel medallion monogrammed TM  for Tafari Makonnen, surmounted by the Ethiopian Crown within a laurel leaf frame on a radially engraved ground, the hinged back cover with a finely painted polychrome enamel portrait of Haile Selassie in royal blue dress and surrounded by the inscription, in Amharic, His Highness Tafari Makonnen. Dial, case, cuvette and movement signed, case and movement numbered.
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Diameter: 50 mm
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Signed: Omega Bienne Genève
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Cal. 38 M.S. M = Thin, S = Savonnette (hunting cased). A watch with an identical enamel portrait is illustrated in Omegamania by Marco Richon.
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Emperor Haile Selassie I – July 23, 1892 to August 27, 1975 – Haile Selassie I, who was emperor of Ethiopia between 1930 to 1974, was born as Tafari Makonnen. He ascended the throne in Ethiopia in 1930, 14 years after he had led the revolution of 1916. During his 44 year reign, he survived an invasion by Italy and spent several years in exile. He attempted to modernize his country. Selassie was a charismatic ruler who opposed colonial involvement in Africa and was also a founder of the Organization of African Unity. However, he was toppled by a military coup in 1974 following a severe famine and was allegedly killed by Marxist military officers a year later. He was reburied in Addis Ababa in 2000. Selassie continues to be revered by Rastafarians, who regard him as a god. He claimed to be a direct descendant of King Solomon and Makeda, the Queen of Sheba. The present watch was probably made to commemorate Ras (Prince) Tafari Makonnen’s coronation as Emperor on November 2, 1930. It was then that he adopted the throne name Haile Selassie, meaning ‘Power of Trinity’. One of his emblems is the ‘Lion of Judah’. This emblem can be traced back to the Book of Genesis of the Old Testament, in which the Israelite tribe of Judah used the lion as its symbol.