The Big Takeaways From Dubai Watch Week

It was the watch event to end all watch events. For five days last week, thousands of watch lovers—buyers and sellers, makers and media, chief executives and celebrities—converged on an urban park in the shadow of the Burj Khalifa in downtown Dubai to celebrate the seventh edition of Dubai Watch Week; the 75th anniversary of its host, the retailer Ahmed Seddiqi; and the conviction that, even amid punishing tariffs, currency swings, soaring material costs, and other economic headwinds, the luxury watch business is alive and well.

“I’m very confident about the watch industry,” Georges Kern, the CEO of Breitling, said during a roundtable discussion in which he and his fellow chief executives acknowledged that the current crisis has challenged everyone. “Let’s not forget all the emerging markets: India, Indonesia, etc. You have more wealth in the world, the contra reaction to digitalization, you have the certified pre-owned process. A watch is an object of emotion, of pleasure. I’m still super confident about this industry.”

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. Nowhere else could you imagine seeing Patek Philippe president Thierry Stern, Rolex chief executive Jean-Frédéric Dufour, the footballer Mbappe, the musician and Audemars Piguet partner John Mayer and master horologists Philippe Dufour and François-Paul Journe walking steps ahead of you, surrounded by thousands of eager watch lovers. But it wasn’t all big brands and big names with global appeal. 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 new. At Dubai Watch Week, we glimpsed the future of the watchmaking industry and—ask anyone who was there—it sure looked bright.

It was the watch event to end all watch events. For five days last week, thousands of watch lovers—buyers and sellers, makers and media, chief executives and celebrities—converged on an urban park in the shadow of the Burj Khalifa in downtown Dubai to celebrate the seventh edition of Dubai Watch Week; the 75th anniversary of its host, the retailer Ahmed Seddiqi; and the conviction that, even amid punishing tariffs, currency swings, soaring material costs, and other economic headwinds, the luxury watch business is alive and well.

“I’m very confident about the watch industry,” Georges Kern, the CEO of Breitling, said during a roundtable discussion in which he and his fellow chief executives acknowledged that the current crisis has challenged everyone. “Let’s not forget all the emerging markets: India, Indonesia, etc. You have more wealth in the world, the contra reaction to digitalization, you have the certified pre-owned process. A watch is an object of emotion, of pleasure. I’m still super confident about this industry.”

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. Nowhere else could you imagine seeing Patek Philippe president Thierry Stern, Rolex chief executive Jean-Frédéric Dufour, the footballer Mbappe, the musician and Audemars Piguet partner John Mayer and master horologists Philippe Dufour and François-Paul Journe walking steps ahead of you, surrounded by thousands of eager watch lovers. But it wasn’t all big brands and big names with global appeal. 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 new. 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.