Amid a super-busy autumn calendar already including exhibitions in Mexico (SIAR), Hong Kong (Watches&Wonders), the Salon Belles Montres in Paris, the GPHG in Geneva and the SalonQP in London, why has Dubai set out to organise yet another watch event? What added value does it deliver?
Here are a few ingredients that make all the difference:
- A non-commercial cultural initiative
While Seddiqi, one of the main local watch distributors, is indeed behind this first event in Dubai and funded it to a great extent, selling was not the goal. So where’s the catch? Melika Yazdjerdi, head of Corporate Communications at Seddiqi, offered a ready response: “Seddiqi has been involved in watchmaking for 65 years and it’s our responsibility to make a contribution. Our return on investment came even before the exhibition opened, given that all these exceptional watch industry movers and shakers had accepted our invitation”.
To unite, educate and inspire: such is the long-term ambition of the Dubai Watch Week, based on community management and a spirit of healthy competition rather than traditional sales patter.
- Honouring independent watchmaking
prior contact with the industry steps into the DWW, the goal is that they will be able to grasp what lies behind a timepiece. Who could be better equipped to convey this passion than an independent horological creator? It was a logical choice.”
Daniel Zimmermann, representing H. Moser & Cie, saluted this initiative: “It’s the first show really dedicated to independents. Visitors were really able to understand who we are. Some of them had perhaps caught a glimpse of our models in a multibrand Seddiqi boutique, but they were delighted to actually meet our companies, especially in a non-commercial environment.” That being said, the approach was not an obstacle to sales!
- A gathering of influencers
As was notably mentioned in other Worldtempus articles, the 57 brilliant speakers represented the entire spectrum of key watch industry roles: from designers or executives to the most seasoned collectors, auction experts, along with several retailers and extremely influential media representatives. This healthy balance led to fruitful exchanges fostered by a carefully planned setting.
- The context
The event is rendered truly unique by concentrating participants within the human-scale environment of the DIFC, a group of buildings featuring spacious open-air terraces and located at the heart of the Dubai business district.
People were thus able to congregate and cross paths there while enjoying some welcome sunshine, including while chatting in front of the Opera Gallery entirely redesigned to host the iterant exhibition of the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève pre-selected watches. GPHG Foundation president Carlo Lamprecht even dropped in for coffee each morning and this timely cohabitation actively contributed to the prevailing spirit of camaraderie.
- Transparency
A delighfully informal mood, stemming from the combination between the location and the visitors themselves, also pervaded the talks and proved conducive to a rare phenomenon in these circles: transparency. The panel discussions were astonishingly open and devoid of any meaningless prattle. Instead, people spoke of their strengths while also admitting their weaknesses. Max Büsser had indeed set the frank tone of the event by declaring that: “Independent watchmaking creators are an endangered species.”
- A public of connoisseurs and collectors
Seddiqi had clearly made the most of its substantial database to attract a large throng of aficionados, connoisseurs and experienced collectors including expats and locals. Even the Sheikh paid a courtesy call!
