Dubai Watch Week is all about relationships, the sharing of information and, of course, watches. Held biennially, and this year consisting of more than 40 watch brand exhibitors, the show is an important meeting point and the perfect place to unveil new timepieces. This year, Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons partnered with six luxury brands to unveil a total of seven watches made expressly for Dubai and the UAE market and to be sold via Seddiqi boutiques only.
According to Mohammed Abdulmagied Seddiqi, Chief Commercial Officer of Seddiqi Holding, these seven watches are the result of a long and passionate project to create just the right watches for their clients. In a private interview, wherein he personally showed all of the watches to WorldTempus, he noted that many of the special-edition watches had already been pre-sold, sight unseen.
“It is a matter of trust. Our clients trust our taste levels and know that they will be receiving some very special watches,” says Seddiqi. “None of the clients who booked these watches have seen them, but they appreciate that all of the watches are special editions and all are numbered.”
Here’s a closer look at each of those seven special pieces.
Hublot Classic Fusion Special Edition Bronze Anticlockwise
This special-edition watch made in collaboration with Hublot is a 100-piece edition of a Classic Fusion timepiece in beautifully patinated bronze (that will not further oxidize thanks to a protective treatment) with an anthracite gray dial and gray strap. The watch houses a fully integrated anti-clockwise movement that, according to Seddiqi, was five years in the development stages. The dial features Indian numerals to aid in the reading of time in this counter-clockwise configuration.
“Everything in this world is anti-clockwise except the watch and now we have the watch that goes that way too,” says Seddiqi. “The Earth goes around the Sun anti-clockwise, the Moon goes around the Earth anti-clockwise; in Dubai when you enter a roundabout, you go anti-clockwise. So, I wanted a watch display to go anti-clockwise, too. As to the colors, everyone is doing bronze with green or blue dials, we wanted to break that and so we went with the gray tones. The contrast with the bronze is beautiful. We expect to be copied on this,” says Seddiqi. “The movement is exclusive for Ahmed Seddiqi and Sons; no one else can have this, and we are already working on using the movement for another design for next year that will be killer.”
Frederique Constant Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar Manufacture Limited Edition
Working with Frédérique Constant, Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons unveiled the Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar Manufacture Limited Edition watch. “We designed this before Frédérique Constant launched the Only Watch edition, but ours was first and it is a different color. They showed me the movement over a year ago, and I wanted it. Not everyone thought the idea of a Frédérique Constant limited edition would work for us, but we pursued it,” says Mohammed Seddiqi, noting that there were five or six different dial colors and combinations created before he made the final choice.
Just 10 pieces of the stainless-steel watch, with skeletonized movement and certain dial elements in copper as a visual nod to the sun-scorched desert sands of the region, will be made. All were pre-sold four months ago based on a photograph, said Mohammed Seddiqi.
Bell & Ross BR 03-92 Green Arabic Steel
Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons and Bell & Ross unveiled the BR 03-92 Green Arabic Steel watch, crafted in satin-finished stainless steel. The watch comes in a limited edition of 38 pieces with a vibrant green dial. Sold with a brown leather strap, and with an extra black Velcro strap, the watch features Indian numerals at the 12, 3, 6, and 9 o’clock positions. The aviation-influenced watch took inspiration for its green dial from the flag of Dubai.
According to Mohammed Seddiqi, “We had to do that green dial so many times in order to get the perfect shade of emerald green. We knew the exact color we wanted and when we finally saw it, it was a winner.”
The green symbolizes, hope, growth and prosperity. This is the first time that Bell & Ross uses Indian numerals instead of its traditional numbers for a dial. The white numbers and indexes are filled with Super-LumiNova for easy readability.
H. Moser & Cie Swiss Alp Watch Concept Dubai Limited Edition
and
Endeavour Centre Seconds Concept Diamonds Dubai Limited Edition
For the Seddiqi limited editions, H. Moser actually created two new special editions: a rectangular Swiss Alp Watch with bright yellow fumé dial in an edition of 10 pieces, and a feminine Endeavour Centre Seconds watch with brown fumé dial and a diamond-adorned bezel, built in a limited edition of 9 pieces (for a total of 19 to honor the year 2019). The watches do not bear the H. Moser logo on the dial so as not to interrupt the beauty and gradiance of the color, which seems to change hues as the watch moves. According to Mohammed Seddiqi, within the company, the watches are affectionately referred to as “From Dusk to Dawn,” as the dials recall the colors of the evening sky and the early morning sunrise.
Ressence Type 1DXB Dubai Edition
According to Mohammed Seddiqi, the Ressence watch is “killer”. And he is absolutely on target there. “It is very elegant and yet sporty, and has a lot of details about the culture, architecture and beauty of Dubai.” Seddiqi says he worked with Ressence two years ago on a titanium cushion-shaped case with skeletonized dial for his own personal collection. When he saw it, he knew he had to make an extension of it for customers. The watch boasts an alluring dial with a geometric open-worked pattern in sand-beige tones. Just 19 pieces are being made and Mohammed Seddiqi says he has a waiting list of 40 people already.
Meistersinger Circularis Reverse
The Meistersinger Circularis Reverse special edition watch with royal blue dial features indexes in rose gold. The watch is referred to as the Reverse because its single hand moves in an anti-clockwise direction. The design was exclusively developed for Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons, based on the unusual anti-clockwise display. An iconic feature of the Meistersinger collection, the one hand of the Circularis shows the hours and minutes via its precise dial position, with the date shown through a round aperture at the 6 o’clock position. Just 25 pieces are being made of this unexpected interpretation of a Meistersinger classic.
