It is almost time for Dubai Watch Week, which in 2025 celebrates ten years of watchmaking excellence and cultural exchange. Ten years in which Dubai has not only welcomed the leading players in a constantly evolving industry, but also rewritten the very language of collecting and mechanical passion.

From November 19 to 23, 2025, the beating heart of world watchmaking will beat at the foot of the Burj Khalifa, in the new space of the Dubai Mall Burj Park, a stage of more than 18,580 square meters flooded with light and ideas. Here, more than 90 independent fashion houses and brands will gather not to compete, but to dialogue. Because, in Dubai, time is measured in conversations, in gestures, in details that tell of a savoir-faire capable of combining tradition and contemporary audacity.

A decade that changed the pace of watchmaking

Founded in 2015 under the patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the biennial event began as a cultural experiment: to create a space where the mechanics of the watch could dialogue with art, design, philosophy, and even new technologies. Today, ten years later, that experiment has become a universal language, recognized by collectors as one of the most authentic and enlightening moments in the global watchmaking calendar.

“Each edition grows not only in scale, but in purpose,” explains Hind Seddiqi, CEO of Dubai Watch Week. And in these words we can sense the very essence of the event: not a fair, not a trade show, but a cultural meeting point where visions, ideas and possible futures are woven together.

So, 2025 marks an unprecedented edition, not only in numbers but in the depth of content. The conceptual heart will be the House of Horology, a sort of contemporary agora where more than 12 sessions will feature leading figures from global industry and culture. The opening will be a historic event: Jean-Frédéric Dufour, CEO of Rolex, will take the stage with Abdul Hamied Seddiqi, Chairman of Seddiqi Holding, for a dialogue with the emblematic title – “The Time to Act is Now.”

It is a symbolic, almost poetic moment: time not as measurement, but as responsibility. The conversation between Dufour and Seddiqi promises to be a reflection on the essence of the watchmaking craft today, between ethical challenges, sustainability, and the role of luxury as a custodian of values, not just status.

There will be no shortage of intellectually tense moments, such as the CEO Roundtable: Horology Edition, where figures like Georges Kern, Ilaria Resta, Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, and Julien Tornare will discuss the future of the industry. At a time when watchmaking is being called upon to reinvent itself without losing its soul, these conversations become a compass and a mirror.

And then there are the iconic returns, such as that of François-Henry Bennahmias, who will bring to the stage a theme as provocative as it is necessary: “Fresh Eyes on Old Dials,” a lucid critique of the habits and limitations of the industry.

Masterclasses and the collectors’ lounge

But what makes Dubai Watch Week unique is its ability to combine technical knowledge with sensory experience. Masterclasses and workshops promise moments of pure wonder: from lamplight paintings curated by Wristcheck, to decorative hammering by Atelier Wen, to meteorite workshops by Bangalore Watch Company, where fragments of stars become dials and concrete dreams.

Each workshop is a small window into the soul of watchmaking: ancient gestures meeting curious hands, traditions reinventing themselves. Hermès, Gerald Charles, Van Cleef & Arpels, and many others will offer immersive experiences that turn appreciation into participation. Here, audiences don’t watch: they experience time.

As always, Dubai Watch Week does not just celebrate, it stimulates. In partnership with the Dubai Future Foundation, Audemars Piguet will explore the boundaries between innovation and tradition, while Van Cleef & Arpels and its L’ÉCOLE school will offer educational pathways to discover the artistic crafts that bring the enchantment of time to life.

There is also room for new narratives, such as the exclusive premiere of Wei Koh‘s “Man of the Hour” series, which promises to reveal the humanity behind the giants of watchmaking. Because behind every caliber, behind every complication, there are men and women trying to imprison eternity in a few millimeters of metal.

Then, in such a grandiose setting, there is also room for contemplation. The Collector’s Lounge, a place for meeting and discovery, will offer moments reserved for those who wish to deepen their relationship with time. This year it will be enhanced by a section dedicated to the 75th anniversary of Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons, with a collection of limited editions created to celebrate the founder’s legacy and vision. A discreet and refined tribute to the history of a family that has helped shape the watchmaking scene in the Middle East.

Official partner of this major event is the famous auction house Bonhams. Founded in 1793, it is a global network of auction houses, with the largest number of international locations and the broadest range of collectible categories, operating at all price levels. With 14 auction sites, Bonhams holds more than 1,000 sales each year in more than 60 specialized categories, including fine art, collectibles, luxury goods, wines and spirits, and collectible automobiles.

Conclusions

After ten years, Dubai Watch Week is more than an event: it is a magnifying glass on the evolution of contemporary watchmaking taste and thought.

So, as the lights of Burj Park reflect on the dials of the most anticipated creations, one thing will be clear: the value of time is not measured in seconds, but in shared emotions, in ideas that remain, in passions that know no time zones.

Dubai Watch Week is this: a symphony of mechanics and humanity, an invitation to stop and listen to what time has to tell.

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