In honor of the fourth edition of Dubai Watch Week 2019, several watch brands have issued limited edition timepieces.
The models range from changed dial colors of existing watches – mostly with colors depicting sunny and/or sandy hues – to replacing the numerals to reflect the local Arabic-Hindi style, to even developing one new movement variation.
So without further ado, here we highlight four limited edition watches seen at Dubai Watch Week 2019.
Vacheron Constantin Patrimony Manual-Winding
Vacheron Constantin’s Patrimony line is not only usually characterized by ultra-thin platinum cases but also an elegant, truly hard-to-find simplicity in this quality.
And in honor of the 2019 edition of Dubai Watch Week, the oldest continually operating Swiss watch brand delights watch collectors in the UAE with a 30-piece limited edition featuring a salmon dial, a color that ignites passion in many watch aficionados.
For more information, please visit www.vacheron-constantin.com/en/watches/patrimony/patrimony-manual-winding.
Quick Facts Vacheron Constantin Patrimony Manual-Winding
Case: 42 x 7.65 mm, platinum
Movement: manual winding Caliber 4400 AS; 65-hour power reserve, Seal of Geneva, 28,800 vph/4 Hz frequency
Functions: hours, minutes, small seconds
Limitation: 30 pieces
Ressence Type 1DXB
Ressence doesn’t do many limited edition watches, but when this Belgian company indulges they are always interesting.
And so it is with the latest 19-piece limited edition Ressence introduced in collaboration with Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons, organizer of Dubai Watch Week and the largest retailer in the Middle East, a gorgeous variation of the Type 1 Squared, which features an attractive cushion-shaped case and a very practical interchangeable strap system.
Ressence’s answer to the dress watch, this timepiece is thinner and slightly smaller than its other models thanks to a solid case back (instead of sapphire crystal) and a retractable winding/setting “bow” on the back.
But it is the sand-colored dial that stands out here, which very obviously draws inspiration from Arabic geometric patterns believed to unveil an underlying reality to the viewer. An Arabic take on a skeleton dial as seen through the eyes of Belgian designer Benoît Mintiens, it plays with natural light to create interesting shadow play.
“We are extremely honored to collaborate with Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons on this rather unique project. They have pioneered in promoting independent brands in their region and I see this piece as a thank you for all their efforts,” said Mintiens.
For more information, please visit www.ressencewatches.com/watches/type-1.
Quick Facts Ressence Type 1DXB
Case: titanium, 41 x 11 mm, solid case back including bow
Movement: automatic customized Caliber ETA 2824/2 with patented ROCS 1 (Ressence Orbital Convex System) and time-setting system manipulated using a bow; 27 gears and 6 spheres
Dial: convex German silver with 3 eccentric biaxial satellites inclined at 3° (hours) and 4.75° (seconds and weekdays)
Functions: hours, minutes, seconds; days of week
Limitation: 19 pieces
H. Moser & Cie Swiss Alp Watch Dubai Edition 2019
The Swiss Alp watch was what kicked off CEO Edouard Meylan’s reputation as a guy shaking things up in a rather traditional industry: this timepiece’s shape is not accidentally reminiscent of an Apple Watch and was meant to signify the “smarter, slower” side of modern watchmaking.
It was only made possible by a cache of rectangular movements that Meylan and his crew found in the stocks of mechanisms when his family took over H. Moser in 2012. Now those shaped stocks have come to an end with this ten-piece limited edition marking the second-to-last iteration of the Swiss Alp Watch, which will be discontinued in 2020.
Remarkable is its yellow fumé dial, a style that has become a signature of the Schaffhausen-based Swiss brand. It is topped off by an unusual kudu-leather strap.
For more information, please visit www.h-moser.com/en/collection/swiss-alp-watch.
Quick Facts H. Moser & Cie Swiss Alp Watch Dubai Edition 2019
Case: 38.2 x 44 x 10.3 mm, black DLC-coated stainless steel
Movement: manual winding Caliber HMC 324 4-day power reserve, 18,000 vph/2.5 Hz frequency, Straumann hairspring, gold escape wheel and pallet fork
Functions: hours, minutes; power reserve indication (on rear)
Limitation: 10 pieces
Hublot Classic Fusion Bronze Anticlockwise
In conjunction with Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons, Hublot announced a very special watch that differs from the other limited editions in that it has had substantial changes made to its movement along with its dial.
Hublot’s Classic Fusion Bronze has – you guessed it – a bronze case. But not any bronze case. This one has had patina added to it so that it looks aged. And it is only the second case Hublot has ever made in this metal, and the first with the “aged” look.
The clever thing about this watch is that alongside the inclusion of Hindu-Arabic numerals – the Classic Fusion usually has no numerals – it runs counterclockwise, the way that someone reading Arabic would read a book (from right to left rather than left to right with the Latin alphabet).
There is no second hand revealing the mystery of the backward time to an onlooker.
In order to accommodate this highly unusual, and quite poetic, mechanical function, the movement has needed quite a bit of modification.
“In fact,” said Mohammed Abdulmagied Seddiqi, “it is a fully new movement.”
And one that is exclusive to Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons.
For more information, please visit www.hublot.com/en/news/hublot-and-ahmed-seddiqi-sons-launch-the-hublot-classic-fusion-special-edition-bronze-anticlockwise.
Quick Facts Hublot Classic Fusion Bronze Anticlockwise
Case: 45 mm, bronze
Movement: automatic Caliber 1112, modified; 42-hour power reserve, 28,800 vph/4 Hz frequency
Functions: hours, minutes
Limitation: 100 pieces
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