Methodology
How every figure is sourced
One principle runs through the site: no figure without a source. Everything else on this page is how that principle is applied.
Which sources count
A record must rest on at least one report from WAM, Khaleej Times, Gulf News, The National, Arab News, Reuters or Bloomberg, or on an official statement from the organiser, the auction house, a government body or Guinness World Records.
Other outlets can stand beside those sources but never replace them. Every source is linked, and every link was opened and checked before the record was published.
A page counts as a source only if it states the record's price explicitly. Event pages and calendars are not sources.
What counts as a record
Only a completed sale that took place physically or officially in one of the six GCC countries. Asking prices, estimates, valuations, refused offers, online-only sales and prices that were agreed but never paid do not count.
A purchase made abroad by a Gulf buyer does not count either: the sale has to happen here.
In the live-animal categories (falcons, horses and camels), only sales made at official or licensed auctions and festivals count. Sales of animals caught in the wild are not included.
How buyers are named
A buyer is named only when a listed source states the name as fact. A paddle number, a description such as “a businessman”, or a name attributed to unnamed people is not enough, and the seat reads Undisclosed.
When sources disagree
If two sources give different figures for the same sale, both are shown, each with its source. The seat follows the better-supported figure, and the note under the record says why.
Currencies
Prices are shown in the currency of the sale. The dollar figure beside them uses the official peg for the UAE dirham (3.6725), the Saudi riyal (3.75) and the Qatari riyal (3.64), which were in force on every sale date. The Kuwaiti dinar is not pegged to the dollar, so it is converted at a sourced rate for the date of the sale, and the rate is named.
Seats, ties and vacancies
Each category has five seats: the throne for the highest price, three in the royal circle, one at court. Two sales at the same price share a rank, and the earlier sale sits first. When fewer than five sales are verified, the rest of the seats stay empty.
What is never copied
Facts are taken from sources and written in our own words, in English and in Arabic. Headlines, paragraphs and photographs belong to the publishers that made them. No photograph of a person appears on the site.
Corrections
Each board shows the date its figures were last checked against their sources. To report an error, write to info@gulfthrone.com with the page and the source.
Questions and answers
- Where do ThronePulse's figures come from?
- From reports by WAM, Khaleej Times, Gulf News, The National, Arab News, Reuters and Bloomberg, and from official statements by organisers, auction houses, government bodies and Guinness World Records. Every figure links to its source, and a page counts as a source only if it states the price.
- Which sales can take a seat?
- Only completed sales that took place physically or officially in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain or Oman. Asking prices, estimates, online-only sales and unpaid prices are left out. Falcons, horses and camels count only when sold at an official or licensed auction or festival, never when caught in the wild.
- Why do some records say the buyer is undisclosed?
- A buyer is named only when a reliable source states the name as fact. Anything less, including a name reported through unnamed sources, leaves the buyer undisclosed.
- How are prices converted to US dollars?
- At the official pegs: 3.6725 dirhams, 3.75 Saudi riyals and 3.64 Qatari riyals to the dollar. The Kuwaiti dinar is converted at a sourced rate for the date of the sale.
- Why are some seats empty?
- A seat is filled only by a verified sale. When a category has fewer than five, the remaining seats stay vacant rather than being filled with estimates.