Soon industry politics came into play and some of the anchor brands began pulling out, creating their own tradeshow called the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH). This was yet another highly exclusive, industry-only event held annually in Switzerland. After just a few short years, the SIHH ultimately morphed into Watches and Wonders, the main event in the Swiss industry today.
While the Swiss have historically held the power when it comes to horological fairs, other markets have started to follow. Today, industry tradeshows are becoming a more global affair, from I Am Watch in Singapore to SIAR in Mexico. However, of all the new fairs emerging one is gaining notable momentum: Dubai Watch Week.
In 2015, Seddiqi – the most significant luxury watch retailer in the UAE – created Dubai Watch Week. What started as a small gathering in an art gallery tucked in the DIFC with a handful of independent brands on the retailer’s roster quickly grew. The once annual fair eventually became biannual and the most highly anticipated watch event of the horological community.
In its tenth edition this year, it’s expanded to an astounding 90 brands. However, the scale isn’t the most interesting or impressive thing about Dubai Watch Week. While Swiss tradeshows like Watches and Wonders have lowered the barrier to entry and include select days that are open to the public, the presence of collectors remains marginal. On the other hand, Dubai Watch Week attracts a different audience in many respects, including a notably higher percentage of collectors as well as a much more diverse cultural demographic. As a result, brands use this global platform in a different way, carefully mapping out their releases every two years to reach a more unique subset of the industry from media and retailers to enthusiasts.
Of course, regional exclusives are often part of the strategy. This year notably marked both a decade of Dubai Watch Week and Seddiqi’s 75th anniversary for which we saw a slew of homage pieces from dozens of brands. However, what I personally found most intriguing were not the anniversary editions or UAE exclusives but the other models making their debut at Dubai Watch Week. So, I sat down with executives from eight maisons to better understand what’s so special about the platform of Dubai Watch Week, the audience it attracts, and the way it shapes brand strategy.
Founding member H Moser & Cie unveiled a new version of its popular Streamliner with a perpetual moonphase and a unique dial treatment. “This model is one of our most significant launches of the year,” affirms co-owner Bertrand Meylan. “Dubai has really become the global event, so it makes sense for a global launch. In the early years, you would see a lot of special editions for the Middle East market or for Seddiqi, but now it’s an occasion for something more.”
MB&F, another one of the original brands of the fair, presented two new versions of its HM11. “In the 2023 edition, we chose Dubai Watch Week for our biggest launch of the year – a new collection called the HM11,” explains founder Max Busser. “Two years later, it just felt right to introduce the next two editions – this is how we do things at MB&F,” he continues. “We just find our true north, and we follow our intuition.”
This year, Parmigiani Fleurier made its Dubai Watch Week debut with a new version of its Tonda PF Minute Rattrapante. “This is a place where meaningful dialogue in watchmaking really comes to life,” observes CEO Guido Terreni. “It’s a region where a mature and nuanced watchmaking culture values craftsmanship. For us, this was more than a launch – it’s the beginning of our presence in one of the world’s epicenters for watch enthusiasts and collectors.”
For Girard Perregaux, the drive to present its latest Three Bridges concept was also the enthusiast community. “Dubai Watch Week has thoughtfully been conceived as a collector’s event,” believes brand director Marc Michel-Amadry. “The power of creating a platform where collectors from all over the world can feel welcome to share their watches and passion is huge,” he continues. “The novelties we choose to unveil at Dubai Watch Week are designed for connoisseurs of haute horlogerie. There couldn’t be a better place or event to speak to this audience.”
Like Parmigiani and Girard Perregux, Ressence also recognized the power of the dialogue Dubai Watch Week opens for its introduction of the Type 1 Round Rose Gold. “This fair is shifting the gravity point of watchmaking,” asserts founder Benoit Mintiens. “By uniting an exceptional ecosystem of collectors, community voices, retailers, and global press, Seddiqi has created a platform that really drives significant conversations forward.”
Biver launched not one, not two but an astounding 11 new variations on its Automatique line. According to CEO James Marks, “the UAE is a rapidly growing and strategically important market for Biver.”
Niels Eggerding, CEO of Frederique Constant, agrees. “Dubai Watch Week attracts a global and high net worth audience of collectors, tastemakers, key media, and industry leaders giving it a powerful reach. It also offers a very experiential format,” Eggerding continues. “This made it the perfect place to celebrate our collaboration with Bamford.”
Frederique Constant and Bamford weren’t the only mashup to use Dubai Watch Week as a launch point. One of the most significant models of the show was the UR-Freak, a co-creation between Ulysse Nardin and Urwerk. “Dubai is becoming the most important fair in the industry,” confirms Urwerk co-founder Martin Frei. “And for us, this was one of the most important collaborations we have ever done, so it just made sense to be the launch point.”