My Top Three Favourites from Dubai Watch Week

Three Phenomenal Timepieces !

Dubai Watch Week: 16th – 20th November 2023.

Dubai Watch Week (DWW) was founded in 2015 by the Seddiqi family as a Bi-Annual watch event. Since then, it has grown from a regional event, to one that is now global, attracting timepiece brands and their executives, noted horological personalities, collectors, journalists, influencers, from the world over. Prominent timepiece brands – both mainstream and independents – chose this year’s recently concluded DWW to launch new timepieces. Carl F. Bucherer, De Bethune, Girard Perregaux, Horologer Ming, MB&F, Oris, Ulysse Nardin and several others launched new timepieces. Few were entirely new timepieces, while others were variations of existing timepieces. My Top Three Favourites are:

De Bethune DBD Evergreen.

Girard Perregaux New Bridges Aston Martin Edition.

MB&F Horological Machine No. 11 Architect.

De Bethune DBD Evergreen:

I wrote about the DBD Evergreen for my DWW Coverage last month. In terms of its aesthetics, time-display, horological innovations, and originality, the DBD Evergreen is a timepiece for which a book should be written. Deceptively simple to look at, yet amazingly complex at its core, without the need to scream about it. It is an enduring classic, which will stand the test of time, several decades later. It is a timepiece at the pinnacle of horology. The world of horology should be grateful it exists.

Girard Perregaux New Bridges Aston Martin Edition:

I wrote about the New Bridges Aston Martin Edition for my DWW Coverage last month. Timepieces and automobiles go hand in hand. Often ‘watch guys’ are also ‘car guys’. This leads to collaborations in the industry. Often these collaborations do not work. However, the New Bridges Aston Martin Edition is an excellent effort by both Aston Martin and Girard Perregaux. Girard Perregaux has used a historical and iconic design of theirs – the three bridges – and reinterpreted it towards a modern design – two bridges in this version – with design cues of both Aston Martin and the Aston Martin DB12 Super Tourer, discreetly embedded in the open-dial. Ten years later, even twenty years later, just like the gorgeous Aston Martin DB12 Super Tourer, this timepiece will never go out of style.

MB&F Horological Machine No. 11 Architect.

I wrote about the Horological Machine No. 11 Architect for my DWW Coverage last month. Maximilian (Max) Busser – MB&F’s Rockstar Founder, CEO and Chief Creative Officer has transformed the world of horology with his Horological Machines (HM) and Legacy Machines (LM) series. Each of MB&F’s creations has a ‘story’ or ‘reason’ behind it, and often the stories are connected to Max’s childhood passions. Even by MB&F’s own ‘out of the box’ thinking, the Horological Machine No. 11 Architect is simply sensational. A timepiece inspired by 1960’s architecture, or what a ‘house’ in the 1960’s would look like. Each of the four modules or ‘windows’ has a purpose. A) Sapphire crown (a world first), B) Hours and Minutes, C) Power Reserve, and D) Thermometer. Where a house would have a Roof, the HM11 has a Central Flying Tourbillon. In a world of ‘me too’ timepieces, we should be grateful for Max’s Imagination.