SpotlightDubai Watch Week 2021: The Best New Watches From The Show
Launched in 2015, the Dubai Watch Week has successfully established itself as one of the premier exhibitions that brings together horology enthusiasts from all across the globe. With over 40 luxury brands, the show allows visitors to immerse themselves in the unique stories of each brand, while also providing the perfect venue for networking and generating awareness around fine watchmaking. Here’s a look at the latest launches from this year’s edition
May We Recommend
Breitling Super AVI Collection
For a brand that have a long-standing association with watches crafted for aviation professionals, Breitling never fail to impress with their offerings that ooze style, creativity and are built with cutting-edge technology for supreme precision. Their latest launch—the Super AVI series celebrates this rich heritage with designs inspired by the original 1953 ‘Co-Pilot’ Ref 765 AVI aviator’s watch and four legendary planes: the North American Aviation P-51 Mustang, the Vought F4U Corsair, the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, and the de Havilland Mosquito. While the collection embodies a sense of nostalgia and borrows heavily from tool watches of a bygone era, one need not be an aviation enthusiast to wear one of these watches. The collection comes in five unique versions honouring four powerful and memorable aircraft, whose filigree silhouettes adorn the watches’ sapphire casebacks. The Super AVI P-51 Mustang pays homage to the best all-around fighter plane of its era in two distinct versions: a stainless steel case with a black dial and gold-brown leather strap, and an 18-karat red gold version with an anthracite dial and a black leather strap. The Super AVI Tribute to Vought F4U Corsair features a blue dial, tone-on-tone chronograph counters, and a black leather strap that take their design cues from the characteristic livery of the record-breaking naval aircraft. The Super AVI Curtiss Warhawk, with its military-green dial, white contrasting chronograph counters, and red accents, plays on its namesake’s famous shark-mouth nose art that gave the plane its unmistakable identity. The Super AVI Mosquito features a combination polished and satin-brushed black ceramic bezel and a black dial with white contrasting chronograph counters. Its red and orange elements recall the markings found on the versatile plane, dubbed the ‘Wooden Wonder’. All timepieces are driven by Breitling’s manufacture calibre B04, a COSC-certified movement that supplies a power reserve of approximately 70 hours.
Girard-Perregaux Laureato 42mm Eternity Edition
Launched in 1975, the Girard-Perregaux Laureato has enjoyed immense success and has become one of the bestselling collections for the brand. This year at the Dubai Watch Week, the brand unveiled a new model, now replete with a sublime, grand feu enamel. The Laureato 42mm Eternity Edition is endowed with a resplendent grand feu enamel in options of blue or green—which impart a fresh appeal to this iconic timepiece. This technique has been carried out in-house, and the composition of this lustrous epidermis will never fade or lose its striking appearance. The two variants—blue and green—are each limited to 188 pieces only. This model follows the design of the original 1975 model that was extremely sporty in appearance, and comes in a 42mm stainless steel case that is water-resistant to 100m, but tweaks certain design elements with the grand feu enamel dial that features a guilloché sunray motif. This almost makes the surface come alive as it catches light at different angles. This pattern is visible through the translucent enamel surface, and heightens the splendour of the watch face. The Girard-Perregaux Laureato 42mm Eternity Edition is powered by the self-winding, mechanical movement calibre GP01800, which beats at a frequency of 28,800vph to equip the watch with an energy reserve of up to 54 hours. Entirely designed, produced, assembled and adjusted in-house, it is endowed with traditional finishing, and reveals a gold oscillating weight decorated with Cotes de Geneve, visible through the transparent caseback.
H. Moser & Cie. Heritage Bronze ‘Since 1828’
The most eye-catching attribute of this limited edition H. Moser & Cie. Heritage model is its anthracite fumé dial. Paying homage to the watchmaker’s Russian roots—the Swiss company was first established in St. Petersburg in 1828 and went on to become one of the biggest watch manufacturers in the country—the dial comes with their logo in Cyrillic script and a three-hand timekeeping system. Apart from this, the display features a traditionally-styled railway minute track along with oversized hour markers that are made from an innovative ceramic-based material infused with Super-LumiNova, called Globolight. Crafted to allure the ardent fans of vintage watchmaking, the timepiece is housed in an exquisite 42mm bronze case, featuring thin wired lugs and an onion-shaped crown. The Heritage Bronze ‘Since 1828’ is powered by Moser’s well-known in-house calibre HMC-200m which has also been part of the Endeavour, Pioneer and Streamliner collections. Running at a frequency of 21,600vph, the movement provides a power reserve of an impressive 72 hours and is adorned with the signature Moser double striped finishing.
Hublot Classic Fusion Chronograph Concrete Sand
Marking the 50th anniversary of the United Arab Emirates, Hublot, in collaboration with the Middle East-based luxury watch retailer Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons, have released a brand-new special edition model, the Classic Fusion Chronograph Concrete Sand. Limited to just 100 units, the watch is a perfect representation of UAE’s creativity and ingenuity and the Swiss watchmakers’ expertise in skilful craftsmanship. By bringing together historical material like sand and camel leather and essential material for building any city—concrete—Hublot have highlighted the country’s passion for urban development and progressive vision, without forgetting its history and culture. Offered in a 45mm case with a matching bezel, both of them cut out from high-quality and durable concrete, the timepiece features a distinctive dial that comes with actual sand from the vast deserts of the UAE. The watch is equipped with the self-winding Hublot HUB1143 calibre, which powers the hours and minutes hands, the date complication at the six o’clock position, and the chronograph function. Beating at a frequency of 28,800vph, the movement can run autonomously for a decent 42 hours and can be admired through an exhibition caseback. The Classic Fusion Chronograph Concrete Sand is fashioned with a strap made from camel leather that nicely complements the overall colour scheme of the watch and feels super-comfortable on the wrist.
Le Régulateur Louis Erard x Atelier oï
Crafted in partnership with the Swiss architecture firm, atelier oï, the Le Régulateur Louis Erard x atelier oï is a fascinating concept timepiece. With its display inspired by the traditional sundials, the watch features engraved asymmetrical rays that appear to emanate from the two blue baton-shaped hands indicating the hours and the seconds. There’s also a blue central minute hand that dominates the dialscape. Each line—there are exactly 60 of them and every line that indicates five minutes is more pronounced—is flawlessly polished and together, all of them create a spectacular visual effect, which grabs the attention of the viewer instantly. At first glance, it can be a little puzzling to track the time but once you are used to the design, it gets easier. In a nutshell, this dial by Louis Erard and atelier oï is nothing short of an art piece and makes for a perfect conversation starter. Powered by the automatic Sellita SW266-1, which can store a power reserve of 38 hours, the timepiece is presented in a 42mm stainless steel case along with an elegant grey calf nubuck leather strap.
Louis Moinet Astronef
Known for their highly complex watches with a distinct avant-garde DNA, Louis Moinet presented the Astronef—an exclusive creation, where only eight pieces of this model will be produced by the atelier. The dial stands out and is made from a plate measuring a total 0.6mm thick, from which 0.2mm is then hollowed out to reveal the numerals and a rack, in order to create a depth effect for the readings. The deep-black DLC treatment creates a striking contrast with the rhodium plating and endows it with a two-tone hue. A circular satin-brushed finish is applied to complete the design codes for the watch face. This is framed by an 18-karat gold case with open-worked lugs and case middle. The watch showcases two tourbillons rotating in opposite directions at high speed. They cross paths 18 times per hour (every three minutes and 20 seconds), and are built on two different levels. This calibre LM105 beats at a frequency of 21,600vph and supplies a power reserve of 48 hours. The design is linked to the complexity of the mechanism and is marked by its control tower—the central column—which propels the tourbillons and hands. It is composed of 471 components, and contains two barrels—one for each tourbillon. The Astronef is presented on a black leather strap that enhances the elegance of its gold case.
Oris Big Crown Pointer Date Calibre 403
Earlier this year, when Oris introduced the Big Crown Hölstein Edition, which not only featured quite a number of visual updates but also came equipped with the watchmaker’s brand-new automatic in-house calibre 403, the fans were left a little disappointed as the timepiece was a limited edition model. Now, the wait is finally over as the Hölstein-based watch manufacturers have unveiled a non-limited variant in the form of the Big Crown Pointer Date Calibre 403. Just like the Hölstein Edition, this new timepiece offers a thinner and sharper case than the traditional Big Crown models and now features a flat polished bezel instead of the classic coin-edged one. The dark blue dial also comes with a number of changes, including the pencil-shaped timekeeping hands and the red-arrow-tipped central pointer date hand, which is crescent-shaped in watches from their other collections. However, the biggest update is the super powerful and high-performance calibre 403 that powers the watch. Capable of storing a power reserve of a whopping five days, the movement is the third variant to come out of Oris’s calibre 400 series stable and promises high accuracy with a maximum timekeeping deviation of -3/+5 seconds per day. The movement is visible through a transparent caseback and offers a 10-year warranty.
TAG Heuer Carrera Middle East Limited Edition
In a bid to pay their tribute to the Middle Eastern culture, identity, and colours, TAG Heuer, at this year’s Dubai Watch Week, unveiled the Carrera Middle East Limited Edition. The 42mm timepiece is unlike any of its previous iterations and comes with a dazzling green-coloured dial—the hue is not only auspicious in Islamic culture but also symbolises hope and harmony—in addition to the uniquely designed Arabic hour numerals. Featuring a neatly placed date window at six o’clock, just under the permanent second indicator, the display also consists of two chronograph counters at three and nine. Meanwhile, the central hour and minute hands come with a Super-LumiNova insert for perfect legibility even in low light conditions. Under the hood, we have the calibre Heuer 02 Automatic movement, which provides a power reserve of a minimum of 80 hours and is attached to an open-worked green rotor. The watch is presented in an ergonomically designed stainless steel case and secured to the wrist with the help of an H-shaped stainless-steel bracelet. The Carrera Middle East Limited Edition also comes with a premium brown leather strap, making it both timeless and versatile.
Urwerk UR-100V Full Titanium Jacket
With creations that are not everyone’s cup of tea, Urwerk have created a cult following in the horological world, where each watch stands out for its unique execution. And keeping up with this ethos, the brand unveiled the UR-100V Full Titanium Jacket—a single-colour version featuring different shades of grey. Under the UR-100V’s dome that include the trademark satellite configuration of the wandering hours and minutes, the UR-100V Full Titanium Jacket showcases the same spin on the dial. When the minutes hand has completed its 60-minute journey, it reappears on a 20-minute scale of 555kms. This is the distance you travel in 20 minutes if you are standing on the equator of our rotating planet. The opposite scale tracks your journey through space around the sun: 35,740km every 20 minutes. The 41mm titanium case houses Urwerk’s new calibre 12.02 that drives the carousel carrying the wandering hours on three satellites, and supplies an energy reserve of at least 48 hours. This redesign of the carousel brings the hours closer to the minutes as they travel in succession along the 60-minute scale. The result is an easier and more intuitive reading of the time. This carousel, as well as the structure on top of the hours, are forged from anodised aluminium then sanded and shot-blasted, while the satellite screws are each circular sanded. This limited-edition UR-100V is enhanced by a custom-designed bracelet with 32 sandblasted titanium links.
