Every November, the watch cognoscenti turns its attention to Dubai for Dubai Watch Week, an annual event that was founded and organized by the region’s most prestigious watch retailer, Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons.
This year’s fair, which ended Monday, grew to more than 60 brands covering the gamut from powerhouses like Rolex to small independent artisans crafting limited editions.
Additionally, Perpétual, a local watch gallery specializing in vintage pieces and exclusive limited editions, got in on the action, unveiling some intriguing rarities outside of the main event.
Among a number of Dubai debuts, many exclusive to Seddiqi and specifically designed to appeal to the Middle East’s watch fanbase, these four new models caught our eye:
MB&F HM11 Architect
As we’ve come to expect, Maximilian Büsser once again upends conventional notions of watchmaking with MB&F’s radical HM11, dubbed “Architect,” powered by the iconoclastic brand’s 21st caliber in 18 years.
Pivoting from fantastical creations inspired by sci-fi, aircraft, and supercars, Büsser found inspiration in the world of architecture, particularly postmodern designs of the 1960s that explored innovative, organic forms.
Driven by a vertically stacked 60-second flying tourbillon movement with a system of conical gears, the Architect concept takes the form of four “rooms,” each with its own purpose. The first three rooms respectively display hours and minutes, power reserve, and a thermometer, while the fourth room is designated for time setting via a world-first sapphire crystal crown.
In another unprecedented design idiosyncrasy, the watch is wound by rotating the entire 42mm titanium case on its base to generate up to four days of power reserve.
MB&F will produce 25 pieces priced at US$230,000 of each version—one with a blue dial plate and one with a red gold dial plate.
Chopard L.U.C Strike One
Chopard has added a new 25-piece limited edition of its L.U.C Strike One from last year, expanding its chiming watch collection, which has been evolving for more than 15 years.
Like its predecessors, the L.U.C Strike One (US$66,000) is endowed with a uniquely pure crystalline sound produced by using a sapphire-crystal gong attached to the crystal that covers the dial.
The slender 40mm case is crafted from ethically sourced 18-karat white gold, while the dial takes its aesthetic cues from the classically refined L.U.C XPS 1860 model. At the center, a hand-guilloché engraved honeycomb pattern pays homage to the beehive emblem chosen by the maison’s founder, Louis-Ulysse Chopard.
The new edition’s solid gold gray-green dial is cut away at 1 o’clock to reveal the mirror-polished steel hammer that automatically strikes the monobloc sapphire gong once at the start of each hour, unless set to silent mode via the integrated pusher in the crown.
The automatic L.U.C 96.32-L movement features Chopard Twin technology, with a double barrel generating a 65-hour power reserve, even when the chiming mode is activated.
H. Moser & Cie. Streamliner Small Seconds Blue Enamel
H. Moser & Cie’s new Streamliner Small Seconds Blue Enamel (CHF29,900, about US$33,700) downsizes the cushion-shaped Streamliner, inspired by the curvaceous high-speed trains of the 1920s and 30s, for which it was named.
Paring the stainless-steel case down to 39mm, and thus endowing it with more unisex appeal, required the development of a new movement. The automatic caliber HMC 500 with a 74-hour power reserve is the brand’s smallest and the first to incorporate a platinum micro-rotor.
For the occasion, H. Moser flaunted its exceptional dial skills with a stunning blue Grand Feu enamel dial dubbed “Aqua Blue” that expresses the brand’s signature fumé finish. The painstaking production process involves applying three different shades of pigment that oxidize and meld together when fired 12 times in a high-temperature furnace to achieve the translucent ombré effect.
Fracture – Fiona Krüger x Perpétuel
Working with some of Switzerland’s top independent artisans and manufacturers, the Scottish-born artist Fiona Krüger applies her training in fine art and design to create limited-edition timepieces that express her avant-garde spirit.
Limited to just seven pieces, Fracture (about US$37,500) expands Krüger’s Chaos collection with a collaborative edition produced in conjunction with Dubai’s Perpétuel gallery.
As Krüger put it in an Instagram post, Fracture brings “a bit of a punk spirit to traditional fine watchmaking.”
Framed by a hand-finished recycled titanium case, the copper-colored sun-brushed dial is distinguished by a jarring, jagged crack, inspired by Swiss rock formations that Krüger interprets as “a visual representation of time—a moment of chaos etched onto our landscape.”
The hand-polished fissure reveals a glimpse of the FK Chaos movement, designed by Krüger and engineered by the renowned Swiss movement specialist Agenhor. For this special edition, the movement is embellished with a special two-tone finish in Perpétual’s signature colors of copper and green.
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