Inside Dubai Watch Week

More space, more days, more people… in a word, more ambitious! The third Dubai Watch Week got underway on November 16th and, as if to make its intentions clear, occupies the foreground of the Gate Building – an impressive piece of architecture, modelled on the arch at the centre of Place de l’Etoile in Paris, and symbol of the Emirate’s financial might. It’s here that the various pavilions have been erected for what can only be described as a unique event. Indeed, Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons – a family-owned business established in 1950 and a trusted retailer in the Middle East, representing some sixty brands at 65 points of sale throughout the United Arab Emirates – has broken new ground with its watch week. At a time when many professionals are asking how able the traditional fairs are to serve the industry (something the drastic scaling-back of Baselworld would appear to reflect), the Seddiqi family has forged ahead with a new formula whose purpose is not to fill order books or cash in a sale, but “to transfer knowledge and passion for watchmaking by connecting minds and creating a cultural platform for education, exchange and networking,” in the words of Abdul Hamied Ahmed Seddiqi, Vice Chairman of the family enterprise.

An exciting programme

And it is a winning formula. More than thirty brands are exhibiting in the two Classic & Contemporary pavilions. Many will be showcasing their innovation and creativity at the Creative Hub. The Forum, meanwhile, has increased in size and scope to take in every aspect of watchmaking from design to vintagemania, after-sales service, millennial watchmakers and grand complications. Then there are the Master Classes which, not content to enlist the talent of such luminaries as the Preziusos (father and son), David Candaux and IWC’s Kurt Klaus, now extend to the métiers d’art under the watchful guidance of enameller Vanessa Lecci, engraver Tiago Aires Sergio (from Bovet) and Fabrizio Buonamassa, designer at Bulgari. Just as important are the exhibitions with, on the one hand, a presentation of the winners at the recent Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève and, on the other, artists’ offbeat interpretation of Telling Time, curated by Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie, partner to Dubai Watch Week. Also, Christie’s is providing its services at the Auction Room, with talks by some of the auction house’s experts as well as the opportunity for visitors to have their watch appraised.

Needless to say, the authorities are well-disposed towards Dubai Watch Week which enjoys the patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Latifa Bint Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice Chair of the Dubai Culture & Arts Authority – a great asset for this immensely successful event that is singled out by visitors and professionals alike as “the place to chat and meet kindred spirits”. In fact prestige watchmaking is unique in the luxury segment for its emphasis on a shared passion. Dubai Watch Week has put down strong roots, and the credit for this must go to Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons. Such altruism is sufficiently rare to warrant mention, and the watch segment can only benefit from it.