Dubai Watch Week 2021 is deemed to be the leading global watch show in the UAE. It exhibits a large number of luxury and exclusive brands with more than 40 brands participating this year.
Founded in 2015 by Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons, Dubai Watch Week is a biennial event that provides a cultural platform for the purpose of sharing knowledge, building connections, and celebrating watchmaking.
This year was the 5th edition of Dubai Watch Week which returned with a richer event program with the three pillars of Connecting, Creating, and Celebrating. The 2021 edition achieved the core objective of creating an experiential event thanks to all the participating brands and the partners on ground.
Hind Abdul Hamied Seddiqi, Chief Marketing & Communications Officer (CMCO), and Seddiqi the Holding and Director General of Dubai Watch Week shared that the 2021 edition of this exhibition exceeded their expectations. The first day had so many visitors, that they speculate breaking records. Hind further expresses “We feel blessed to make this edition come through.” When asked what was new, she mentioned, “We have the collectors lounge which is well received by the visitors and the Kids Toys Auction by Christies is a great initiative to ensure that families are able to experience the evening as well “
Participants
Some of the iconic watch brands including Rolex, Audemars Piguet, TUDOR, Hublot, and Chopard had standalone and interactive booth spaces on site.
A few of the participating brands included, Armin Strom, Bell & Ross, Bovet 1822, Breitling, BVLGARI, Christophe Claret, Chronoswiss, Corum, Czapek, De Bethune, F.P. Journe, Ferdinand Berthoud, Frederique Constant, GENUS Watches, Girard-Perregaux, Greubel Forsey, H. Moser & Cie, Jacob & Co, Laurent Ferrier, Louis Erard, Louis Moinet, MB&F, Oris, PURNELL, REBELLION Timepieces, Ressence, TAG Heuer, Trilobe, Ulysse Nardin, and Urwerk. WatchBox was also present, the leading destination for pre-owned luxury timepieces – in order to enlighten watch connoisseurs about the possibility of selling watches, buying watches, and trading watches.
This year, Dubai Watch Week witnessed a Collector’s Lounge. This lounge was created to gather watch connoisseurs from across the globe. This dedicated lounge for watch connoisseurs provided a meeting place to discuss the latest watch releases and horology news. The Collector’s Lounge also showcased the unique limited editions conceptualised by Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons to commemorate the UAE’s 50th anniversary.
We caught up with some brand custodians and here are some highlights from the brands:
MB&F X Bvlgari
The big story of the collaboration between Bvlgari and MB&F has resulted in the Flying T Allegra. This complicated feminine jewellery watch brings together two visions of the world with two creative interpretations merged vividly demonstrating the power of two. This one-of-a-kind timepiece is the product of a friendship between Bvlgari’s Product Creation Executive Director, Fabrizio Buonamassa Stigliani, and MB&F’s Founder and Creative Director, Maximilian Büsser. The Flying T Allegra watch was unveiled in two versions – 18K white or red gold, set with diamonds. The watch has a Power reserve of 100 hours. The hours and minutes are displayed on a 50° vertically tilted dial with two serpentine hands. The watch has two crowns – winding on left and time-setting on right.
Maximilian Büsser words this creation – “The Flying T was a labour of Love, I have always been creating watches that I love. I tried to incorporate the love for the women in my life with this watch. There are three women in my life and I am the sun, and my life revolves around them, the sun in the watch is the rotor. We have already sold these watches which is a total of 40 pieces.”
Fabrizio Buonamassa Stigliani adds that “The choice to revisit MB&F’s FlyingT was both natural and logical since Flying T Allegra incorporates both sensibilities.”
To see more about the FlyingT Allegra watch visit: https://www.mbandf.com/en/machines/performance-art/lmflyingtallegra-mbandf-bulgari
Oris
Oris watches launched a new version of their Big Crown Pointer iconic watch at Dubai Watch Week. The Big Crown Pointer Date Calibre 403 updated 38 mm model provides the watch with small seconds and pointer date complications. This watch has a five-day power reserve and comes with a 10-year warranty.
Rolf Studer, co-CEO, Oris, says “the rubies in this movement are bigger than normal, as it helps hold the oil for a longer period like 10 years.” “The size of 38 mm is perfect for both genders to use the watch”
To view this timepiece and know more click on the link: https://www.oris.ch/en/collection/big-crown
De Bethune
De Bethune is best described in the words of CEO, Pierre Jacques. Pierre says “De Bethune is watchmaking art in 21st century, crossroads between tradition and innovation which means working with few techniques and the spirit of watch markers of the 18th Century with the materials, techniques, and design of today’s day and age”. Production is limited only to 200 pieces per year.
At Dubai Watch Week De Bethune launched a new DB25QP with a green guilloche dial and a new titanium case, limited to 10 pieces. This timepiece has a power reserve of five days. The watch features hours, minutes, spherical moon phase, and leap-year indication at 12 o’clock, while the perpetual calendar indicating the month is at 3 o’clock, the date is at 6 o’clock, and the day of the week at 9 o’clock positions.
This perpetual calendar combines horological finesse with the cutting-edge mechanisms by uniting moon phases, a star-studded sky, and a perpetual calendar to make this an exceptional piece among other exceptional timepieces.
To view this beautiful timepiece and know more about De Bethune click on the link: https://www.debethune.ch/en/collections/db25-collections/perpetua
Czapek also caught my attention and we were intrigued to know more. The brand produces 150 pieces per year but in the current year, they are expected to produce around 300-400 pieces per year. Xavier de Roquemaurel, CEO at Czapek & Cie, explained the history of the brand. “Czapek was a Czech-born watchmaker, Czapek was quickly recognized as one of the greatest watchmakers of the 19th century. Purveyor to the Imperial Court, watchmaker of his Imperial Highness, Prince Napoleon. At its height, the company had boutiques in Geneva, Paris, Place Vendome, and the third one at Faubourg de Cracovie at Warsaw. Historically it is the first watchmaking store of Place Vendome.”
Xavier adds, “In 2013 we decide to revive the brand, Czapek and I joined the company as a partner and became a co-founder. The earlier partner was a friend of his father, and since he passed away I came on board as a partner. Then we brought on a watchmaker and that’s how in 2013 the three of us came together to revive the brand.”
Czapek has been exhibiting at Dubai Watch Week for the last 3 editions and these watches in India are available at Ethos.
To know more on Czapek watches, visit https://czapek.com/
Aramedes
Co-Founder & Chief Emotion Officer (CEO), Tom Morf, introduced the brand to the world, with its first two collections: ZÜRICH, which features three classical mechanisms, and MECCA, the hero product – a line of absolutely innovative timepieces that incorporates functions that support Muslims in observing the key practices of their religion. Tom Morf says “The Brand has come alive now at Dubai Watch Week, we worked for over three years now to create this new mechanism for the Mecca watch and have patented the same.”
Diving deeper Tom Morf says “The Mecca Watch will be a game-changer in the watch industry, we will roll out the brand in GCC first, the Indian market too will be an important market for our Brand”. The module for the watch has been created with an app and is targeted at people who follow Islam as a Religion”
The team designed and developed the AraTec 1 Module, a high-tech electronic component that can be integrated into the watch along with mechanical movement. The associated software calculates the location of the wearer via mobile radio triangulation, and the watch displays the information on subdials. Each subdial has its own step motor on the module that controls the hands of the analog displays. The owner uses the Mastertimer mobile phone app to initialise and calibrate the watch, connecting it via Bluetooth by using the pusher at 2 o’clock on the watch case.
The Aramedes Mecca Collection comprises four models: Mastertimer Qibla which indicates the direction of Mecca; Mastertimer Salah displays the next prayer time in a sub-dial at 9 o’clock as well as the direction of Mecca in a sub-dial at 3 o’clock; Mastertimer Sawm shows fasting times during Ramadan with a sunrise/sunset indicator at 6 o’clock, supplementing the Qibla and Salah displays and prayer time alarm and Mastertimer Salah Tourbillon Automatic offers all of the features of the Mastertimer Salah, with the addition of a flying tourbillon in a titanium cage.
To more about Aramedes Watches click on the link: https://www.aramedes.com/
All in all, the Dubai Watch Week 2021 was a great success thanks to all the efforts of the Management and Seddiqi family. Looking forward to Dubai Watch Week 2023!!