Having taken place in Dubai and London since 2015, Dubai Watch Week (DWW) is now going online. Organised by Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons, the largest watch retailer in the Middle East, DWW was traditionally a watch fair catered to consumers and collectors that was a platform for education as well as new product launches.

Despite the pandemic, DWW is going ahead as much as is reasonably feasible. “Our objective of uniting the watch community and providing an educational platform is at the forefront of what we hope to achieve via this experience,” explains Hind Seddiqi, Director General of Dubai Watch Week.

A scene from an earlier DWW that took place in the Dubai International Financial Centre

This year the event takes the form of four panel discussions that will be broadcast live online. The panels will cover familiar topics like the grey market for luxury watches, but also the more intriguing: the October 26 session is about “conspiracy and authenticity and whether the heart of the luxury industry beats in an organic market or is wound-up and coerced into ticking by specific entities”.

Representing the breadth of the watch industry, the panellists ranging from auctioneers to entrepreneurs to watchmakers. Amongst the participants are Edouard Meylan of H. Moser & Cie., Stephen Forsey of Greubel Forsey, Aline Sylla-Walbaum, Christie’s Luxury department head, as well as Chief Strategy and Business Development Officer of Seddiqi Holding Christophe Nicaise. And it also includes watch collectors like Mishal Kanoo, a prominent Emirati businessman who leads the Kanoo Group.

The panel sessions will be broadcast on Dubai Watch Week’s YouTube channel on October 24, 26, 28, and November 9, starting at 9:00 pm (GMT+4) each day. For more, visit Dubaiwatchweek.com.