Dubai Watch Week Takes Centre Stage

Dubai Watch Week continues to be one of the world’s most refreshing horological events. Returning for its seventh edition, the event not only brought together more than 90 brands but was also held in a significantly expanded space at Burj Park facing the Burj Khalifa, and was attended by a record 49,000 visitors. Unlike the invite-only exclusivity of Watches & Wonders Geneva, Dubai Watch Week, organised by Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons, the regional retailer that was a driving force behind its creation, remains open, democratic, and enthusiastic, allowing collectors to mingle freely with brands and celebrities. This year, the fair offered inclusive moments for watch enthusiasts through horology forums, symposia, CEO roundtables, and masterclasses. The ones that stood out were the keynote session with the typically elusive Rolex CEO, Jean-Frédéric Dufour, and Abdul Hamied Seddiqi, Chairman, Seddiqi Holding, and the special roundtable on cultural, emotional, and personal aspects of watch collecting by actor Dhanush, cricketer Kane Williamson, businessman Kevin O’Leary, and the rising independent watchmaker Rexhep Rexhepi.

Here are six standout timepieces that captured our imagination for their artistry, technical innovation, and bold design.

Hublot MP-17 Meca-10 Arsham Splash

Hublot unveiled the Arsham Splash Titanium Sapphire, the latest chapter in its collaboration with American artist Daniel Arsham. Following the MP-16 Droplet, this is Arsham’s first wristwatch design, conceived as a wearable sculpture inspired by water, fluidity, and transparency. Its compact 42 mm case houses a new, smaller Meca-10 manual-wind movement visible through the splash-shaped dial aperture and sapphire caseback. Materials like frosted sapphire, titanium, and rubber embody Hublot’s Art of Fusion, enabling the watch’s organic, water-carved form. Arsham’s characteristic green accents highlight the hands, numerals, seconds subdial, and power-reserve indicator. While visually different from traditional Hublot silhouettes, the 99-piece limited edition watch retains signature elements—the six H-screws, the sculpted lugs, and the titanium H-clasp.

Why a must-have: The watch turns each artist collaboration into a specific design language.

TAG Heuer Monaco Split-Seconds Chronograph Air 1

TAG Heuer presented one of its most technically advanced creations: the Monaco Split-Seconds Chronograph Air 1. Limited to 30 pieces and inspired by hypercar aerodynamics, it features a Grade 5 titanium case produced using Selective Laser Melting (SLM), an aerospace-derived additive manufacturing process. The result is an ultralight 85-gram hollow structure with a twin-layer honeycomb mesh reminiscent of high-performance engine covers. Powering the Air 1 is the Calibre TH81-00, a high-frequency (5Hz) automatic rattrapante (split-seconds) chronograph co-developed with Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier. Constructed largely from titanium, the movement offers a 65-hour power reserve and reveals its checkered-flag finishing through the sapphire caseback. The Air 1 represents TAG Heuer’s boldest expression yet of motorsport DNA blended with cutting-edge engineering and architectural design.

Why a must-have: The watch borrows processes from the aerospace and automobile industries, and rewrites the laws of case design and construction.

Bvlgari x Mattar Bin Lahej – Octo Finissimo

Bvlgari’s Octo Finissimo, revered for its radical thinness and architectural purity, becomes the canvas for a new artistic collaboration with acclaimed Emirati artist Mattar Bin Lahej. His fluid Arabic calligraphy integrates seamlessly with the watch’s geometric silhouette, creating a dialogue between Roman design codes and Middle Eastern visual culture. Since 2014, the Octo Finissimo collection has set ten world records, culminating in the Octo Finissimo Ultra, the world’s thinnest mechanical watch at 1.80 mm. Its achievements earned Bvlgari the Aiguille d’Or at the 2023 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève.

Why a must-have: The watch looks beyond the dial, offering the whole watch as a canvas for art.

TUDOR Ranger Dune White

TUDOR expands its legendary expedition-watch family with new Ranger models, including a Dune White dial and a compact 36 mm case option, alongside the existing 39 mm size. Built for durability rather than complexity, the Ranger stays true to its roots—from the British North Greenland Expedition of the 1950s to modern Dakar Rally explorations. The grained matte dial features painted Arabic numerals at 3, 6, 9 and 12 o’clock filled with Grade A Swiss Super-LumiNova®, paired with TUDOR’s distinctive arrow-shaped hands. Inside is the COSC-certified MT5400 or MT5402 manufacture calibre, equipped with a silicon balance spring, a robust full bridge, and a 70-hour power reserve. The steel bracelet incorporates the T-fit rapid-adjustment clasp, while each model is also offered with TUDOR’s signature French-woven fabric strap. Rugged, reliable, and purpose-driven, the new Ranger continues TUDOR’s legacy of accessible tool watches designed for the world’s harshest environments.

Why a must-have: No frills, simple outside and solid inside.

Frederique Constant Highlife Chronograph Automatic Bamford 2025

Frederique Constant teams up with Bamford Watch Department for the first time, yielding a dramatically reimagined Highlife Chronograph Automatic, limited to 100 pieces. George Bamford’s signature monochromatic aesthetic transforms the familiar Highlife into something darker and edgier. The standout feature is its 41 mm crystal titanium case, formed by heating titanium to 1,200°C and slow-cooling it to create a unique mineral-like crystalline surface. Black DLC coating enhances its stealth character. Inside, Frederique Constant preserves its Swiss Made identity with the FC-391 calibre, offering a 60-hour power reserve and visible through a smoked sapphire caseback. A matte black dial contrasted with vivid turquoise accents creates maximum readability and visual punch. The watch comes with three easily interchangeable straps—black rubber, turquoise rubber and black nubuck. This collaboration merges Swiss refinement with British irreverence, producing a Highlife that doesn’t just break the mould but rewrites it.

Why a must-have: Combines Swiss watchmaking with bold designs.

H. Moser & Cie. Streamliner Perpetual Moon Concept Meteorite

H. Moser & Cie. unveiled one of the most poetic timepieces of the fair: the Streamliner Perpetual Moon Concept Meteorite. Its dial is cut from the ancient Gibeon meteorite, revealing natural Widmanstätten patterns after painstaking treatment. Moser adds a warm golden tone and its signature fumé effect, giving the dial a celestial glow and unique depth. For the first time, Moser integrates its perpetual moon phase complication into an automatic movement: the HMC 270, offering a three-day power reserve. The moon phase is precise, deviating by only one day every 1,027 years, and can be adjusted via a discreet pusher.

Housed in a 40 mm steel cushion case with an integrated bracelet, the watch preserves the Streamliner’s fluid lines and alternating brushed and polished finishes. With no logo or indices, the dial embodies Moser’s philosophy of expressive minimalism—a pure, understated tribute to the moon and the cosmos.

Why a must-have: The watch is one of the most precise moon phase displays on the market.