After just two editions, Dubai Watch Week has already worked its way high onto my list of horologically inclined events. The reason is simple: the organizers of this show, Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons, have set out to make Dubai Watch Week more of a cultural exchange on the topic of watches than a hard sales event.
The Mori Art Museum has organized a special exhibition on Versailles starring Marie Antoinette. This is the very first retrospective exhibition on the life and times of the young queen to ever take place in Japan, and it does so using more than 150 items from the French castle. Additionally, two beautiful unique piece creations were launched in celebration.
I had the pleasure of curating a special exhibition on métiers d’art at SalonQP 2016, comprising specialist brands in their fields demonstrating the arts and crafts that they have become famous for. But what else did I particularly enjoy there? Read on to find out.
Dubai Watch Week just closed the sun-soaked doors of its 2016 edition during which much of the watch world enjoyed discovering new watches, interesting opinions, the culture of Dubai, the United Arab Emirates’ fastest growing city, and the immense hospitality of the Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons, who staged the incredible show.
Please enjoy these 7 outstanding new watches launched during the 2016 edition of Dubai Watch Week.
While there may be other categories in the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) with more complicated watches and more sparkling watches, the category that the still predominantly male mechanical watch buying public pays most attention to, is “Best Men’s Watch”. And in 2016 that prestigious award went to the Grönefeld 1941 Remontoire.
The Quill & Pad panel reflects on watchmaking’s biggest night: the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève, often described as the Oscars of watchmaking. In this segment, we chat about what we liked and what we didn’t like, which watches won and why we think they did.
We also express a bit of dismay at times.
Follow the 2016 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) live in either English or French with our live video stream starting at 18:30 CET / 17:30 GMT) Thursday November 10.
The second edition of Dubai Watch Week runs 15 through 19 November, 2016 and promises to be three times larger than last year’s inaugural exhibition. The five-day event is organized by Seddiqi & Sons retailers and is the Gulf area’s largest dedicated watch event. Quill & Pad will be actively joining the fun!
Our panel members are nearly unanimous in their predictions for the winner of the top prize in the 2016 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève: the Aiguille d’Or. While two members of the panel could not settle on just one winner, calling a tie between two and even three watches, for Ian the winner is crystal clear. Let us know which timepieces you think will be crowned with the Aiguille d’Or in 2016.
Welcome to the 2016 edition of Quill & Pad’s early Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève predictions in which the team picks favorites and explains why. The contenders are: Hermès Slim d’Hermès, Seiko Presage Automatic Chronograph Enamel Dial, Tiffany & Co. East West Automatic, Tudor Heritage Black Bay Bronze, Zenith Pilot Ton-Up, and Vulcain 50s Presidents’ Watch Tradition.