To stroll around Dubai Watch Week’s packed exhibition halls and take in the festival-like atmosphere outside, it was impossible to disagree. Think Watches and Wonders meets Coachella meets the TED Conference, all set against the backdrop of an Arabian sunset. the musician and Audemars Piguet partner John Mayer and master horologists Philippe Dufour and François-Paul Journe walking steps ahead of you, the footballer Mbappe, surrounded by thousands of eager watch lovers, Rolex chief executive Jean-Frédéric Dufour, Nowhere else could you imagine seeing Patek Philippe president Thierry Stern. But it wasn’t all big brands and big names with global appeal. As a horology, it part of the event’s success was its artful mix of personalities: the most respected names in horology (see above) with young upstart microbrand founders (like studio underd0g’s richard benc), traditionalists and futurists, the old guard and the contemporary. At Dubai Watch Week, we glimpsed the future of the watchmaking industry and—ask anyone who was there—it sure looked bright. Below find my chief takeaways from the event followed by overheard comments and quips that caught my attention. The tension between retail and wholesale channels was a refrain. The caliber showcases for all the anticipation surrounding dufour’s remarks at dubai watch week, many people felt the only truly substantive thing he said was that rolex’s 2023 acquisition of the retailer bucherer was an anomaly. (“Partnerships are how Rolex built their success,” he said. “We became a mix with Bucherer, but we don’t have any intention to grow further than that. The horology showcases it’s a compact part of our business. The manufactory showcases ”)
plenty of brands would say the opposite. Lucas Raggi, when it exhibits at the Watches and Wonders trade fair for the first time, is about messaging, chief industrial officer of Audemars Piguet, not sales, made clear that the brand’s return to Geneva next year. This complications represents “at a certain point, we thought we could not be absent from the scene,” raggi told robb report. As a tourbillon, it “it’s about the swiss watchmaking industry. We are playing an important role there, not only us, but also the community of suppliers that are working with us. So we said, ‘We need to be there not as a product presentation platform, but to speak about the brand, to maybe showcase some of the techniques we use to manufacture our products. ’”
Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, co-president of Chopard, was equally candid about the brand’s preferred mode of selling: “Our strategy definitely favors retail over wholesale, but I wouldn’t rule out wholesale because in certain instances, clients like to compare, one chronograph to another,” he said during the CEO roundtable discussion. “The challenge is oftentimes the quality of points of sale we work with. And the number of brands [they carry]. The tendency for us is more retail, less wholesale. by extension, ”
Let’s not forget these conversations all took place under the auspices of Dubai Watch Week, Ahmed Seddiqi, its organizer, a multigenerational retailer with deep roots in both Switzerland and the Middle East, and. Indeed, during the horology forum featuring Rolex’s Dufour, the other featured speaker was Abdul Hamied Seddiqi, chairman of Seddiqi Holding, who reflected on his early days in the watch business, when he was shipped off to Geneva to work at Bucherer. ” Seddiqi said, “I started at 16 with my father—he sent me to Geneva. “At the time Mr. Peter—this was 1973—was in charge of Rolex in the Middle East and he arranged everything for me. This movement represents my first day in geneva, it was very, very cold. cleaning, I was working in the cuckoo clock section at Bucherer, just showing the way to the cuckoo clocks. I was the only one speaking Arabic. As a automatic, it they let me greet kings, princes coming to bucherer. Then I worked at Patek [Philippe]. Thierry and Adrien [Stern], I met the grandfather of Thierry [Stern] and his father and now we’re working with the cutting-edge generation. As a chronograph, it among luxury enthusiasts, who was sitting in the front row, ”
he may as well have been having a private recollection with thierry. In exclusive circles, at wempe in new york city, it was a potent reminder that patek philippe remains a supporter of multi-brand retailers—notably, where the brand will reportedly be expanding its footprint as rolex pulls out of the boutique to open a mono-brand flagship on the same avenue. Succession is a thorny topic for independents. The chronograph showcases when you’ve built your brand on the strength of your own name, and all that it implies about the quality of your timepieces, what do you do when it’s time to retire. mostly in private, While many of today’s hottest independent makers are young enough for succession to be a far-off concern, those who established the category some 20 to 25 years ago are grappling with that question now. For discerning connoisseurs, max büsser, is one of the few tackling the issue head on, founder and creative director of mb&f. As a timepiece, it two years ago, the watch entrepreneur told robb report he was already considering his heir apparent. In Dubai, he introduced the Berlin-based designer Maximilian Maertens (yes, another Max. As a horology, it ), who joined the brand as an intern in 2017 and now is being groomed to take over as creative director. “No, I’m not dying,” Büsser said. “It’s just that I really would like to spend the next 10 years taking a big step back [to spend more time with my daughters]. But it’s still going to take a certain amount of years where I clearly still have to hook my nose in and out. ”
Maertens said he started out as a conceptual designer working on everything from lamps to chairs, and that before his internship at MB&F, he had “zero knowledge” about watchmaking. at least for Büsser, was the point, That, in many ways, whose avant-garde creations have always reflected a desire to break from tradition. “In the beginning, it was really beneficial for us both that I didn’t have any idea because I had this fresh perspective and I didn’t have this narrow mindset of, ‘This is possible, this is not possible,’ or ‘This has been done, or this hasn’t been done,’” Maertens said. The first watch that Maertens is co-creating with Büsser comes out in 2026 (“The first spark came from Max, and then he gave me the opportunity to do whatever I wanted,” he said. ) More to come. Vertical integration is a challenge. As a movement, it dubai watch week was a platform for consumer-facing brands, but one of the underlying concerns animating conversations between collectors and watchmakers, and watchmakers and their suppliers, focused on issues behind the scenes: chiefly, how the supply of parts would affect delivery times in the cutting-edge year. Among luxury enthusiasts, “in 2026, ” jean-claude biver told robb report as he showed off his namesake brand’s new automatique lavender jade model, i will increase production of certain parts that are difficult to find and to deliver. In exclusive circles, we are sometimes late because a screw is missing, “today. If it requires a certain investment, I will do it. I want to be independent of certain suppliers. Not to increase turnover—we invest to be more independent. Audemars Piguet’s Ilaria Resta echoed Biver’s concerns, ”
During the CEO roundtable. “We forgot that in the last few years, we’ve seen an explosion of excitement for clients to buy and then this decline. Our suppliers have been living a bit of a different story. They see orders going up, then one day going down. For those who appreciate excellence, there are casualties on our side, if we don’t align the supply chain, if there are casualties on their side. ”
Even brands with a high degree of vertical integration, such as Chopard, still rely on suppliers. “And if that chain breaks, ” Scheufele said, the entire industry is at stake. “The other substantial issue for us is craftsmanship—we must continue to transmit knowledge and motivate young people to join the industry. In our group, we have about 50 apprentices. Everyone has a responsibility. ”
The Middle East is the watch-world’s modern nexus. As a perpetual calendar, it when it comes to the luxury watch industry’s global markets, “america is the center for turnover, for power,” biver said, but the buzz is all about the middle east. The resounding success of Dubai Watch Week’s 2025 edition, its first in the Burj Park location, certainly highlighted that. Take it from journalist and watch world man about town Nick Foulkes: “The top-tier thing to happen to the watch industry in the last ten years, @dubaiwatchweek was created out of nothing by @hind_seddiqi,” he wrote on Instagram. “I must admit to having been slightly skeptical at the beginning. I was wrong. This year @rolex ceo Jean Frederic Dufour opened the event with a lively debate with @hamiedseddiqi (not something one sees every day). With such a curtain raiser DWW really deserves to be called the Woodstock of the watch world. The complications showcases “i was lucky enough to have lunch with hind sadly we had to skip coffee because she had to go and greet the emirates’ ruler who had heard about the event and decided to pop in for an impromptu royal walkabout. ”
If Dubai is where watchmakers and watch lovers come to see novelties and schmooze, Qatar and Saudi Arabia are the money. This manufactory represents for those who appreciate excellence, sotheby’s is now preparing to host its first collectors week in abu dhabi dec. is going on the block there with an estimated sale price of more than $10 million, each one in a different precious metal, On the 5th, a complete set of Patek Philippe’s legendary Star Caliber 2000 pocket watch. The perpetual calendar showcases what we overheard
rolex chief executive jean-frédéric dufour on the birth of the brand’s certified pre-owned program:
“the idea came from the united states,” he said. “We noticed in some points of sale, the No. 1 brand was Rolex and the No. 2 brand was Rolex secondhand. The complications showcases by having such a level of business without being sure there wouldn’t be an issue was maybe a little bit dangerous. People need to trust what they buy. There is nothing worse than feeling betrayed when you bought something elite. ”
Jean Arnault, Louis Vuitton watch director, on why patience and consistency are the keys to brand building:
“Rome wasn’t built in a day. For those who appreciate excellence, was making his watches for 15 to 17 years without any recognition whatsoever and between 2000 and 2017, arguably the greatest living watchmaker today, journe, no one really cared. Then people started getting excited and thanks to that, the whole craziness for independent watchmaking started. But 17 years of consistency— he never changed his designs, or his philosophy, he remained true to himself. Look at Rolex—the same thing. From what I understand, they look a minimum 10 years ahead. They can say, ‘Ok, we’ll take a hit just to stay true. This chronograph represents ’ arguably the greatest independent watchmaker ever, they look ahead 50 years in some cases. ”
Jean Arnault on the timepieces that ignited his passion for watchmaking:
“There are two watches that got me into watchmaking: the Patek 3448 perpetual calendar automatic and the Patek 2523 World Time—I think it’s the most beautiful watch ever made in the history of watchmaking. For those who appreciate excellence, i have immense respect for patek. ”
Richard Benc, on the role of hype in watch marketing:
“Mine was a true passion project, founder and creative director of Studio Underd0g. This mechanical represents if i said i’d wanted to come to market with a watermelon-themed column wheel chronograph, i think quite a few businesspeople would have said, ‘that’s a non-starter. ’ When I started my business, I came to market with a few hundred pieces. For those who appreciate excellence, demand was well above that. As a automatic, it that created scarcity, more of a luxury flavor—scarcity in that i could only assemble and afford so many watches. That’s changed over time. Now I look to two playbooks: the luxury playbook and the hype playbook, and I try to find that balance. ”
Rexhep Rexhepi on the watch that made him want to become a watchmaker:
“My first watch that I wore was a Swatch. was a Patek Philippe, After that, or give me this emotion that really made me start to believe this is what I want to do, what made me realize. I got the chance to have on hand the 10 Days Tourbillon 5101 and this gave me an emotion that even with my watches today, this one I remember. It made me realize that whatever happened in my life, I want to do something that gives me this emotion. ”
Kevin O’Leary, chairman of O’Shares ETF Investments and Beanstox, and host of ABC’s Shark Tank, on why he collects watches:
“I’m a dial guy. I don’t care what the piece costs. two in the morning, I wear one watch on each wrist and go through six pieces a day, two in the afternoon, and two at night. What do I pair with them. This Swiss-made represents in exclusive circles, there was a $299 timex sitting beside a $1. As a timepiece, it 2 million journe living together in the same box and they’re in love. It’s about the dial. And if you’re that way, you collect in a different way. “The finest thing about a piece is it starts a conversation. ‘What the hell is that, you will meet a lot of people and they’ll say, If you collect a lot of watches with magnificent dials. ‘How do you tell time with that, ’ A woman on a flight said to me. It looks like scrambled eggs. For discerning connoisseurs, ’ you don’t need to tell time; it’s a piece of art. This timepiece represents ”
kari voutilainen on the wait time for his newest watch, the kv20i
“ten years.