‘Not just a watch show,’ said the giant hoarding outside Dubai’s DIFC Gate, the venue for Dubai Watch Week (DWW) in November 2023, the latest iteration of the biennial event that’s become a key date on the watch world’s annual calendar, with brands using the show to drop new models and generate a little attention.
DWW comes complete with a programme of masterclasses, forums and the like, and draws together CEOs, serious collectors and editors from around the globe in a remarkably informal and open set-up. There’s a genuine creative energy that would be impossible to replicate at bigger industry shows such as Watches & Wonders (see our behind-the-scenes foray of that fair’s build) but owes a great deal to the ground rules (essentially, it’s open to other players and there are no sales at the show) set down by the organisers, Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons, the largest retailer in the region.
