DUBAI WIND DOWN: “Rolex is actually the most authentic watch brand in the industry” – Maximilian Büsser

Zach Blass

Another day of Dubai Watch Week comes to an end and the insightful discussions and excitement of fresh novelties keep coming. While I have only been here for days, I already feel at home on the fair grounds and, with the new friends I have made throughout the week, it is as if we have all known each other for years.

This is the power of our passion for watches. It is said that music is a universal language, and I would argue that watches brings people together in a similar manner. The shared interest of something so niche creates an instant bond, a bond so strong that regardless of your background you can geek out together for days on end.

Being in Dubai, we are going to do things a bit different for this edition of the Wind Down. Instead of our usual programming, we are going to merge Dubai Diaries with the standard format by sharing a quote of the day, watchspot of the day, and release of the day to give you a quick and punchy peek into Day 2 of the fair.

Hope you all had a great week,

Zach

Quote of the day: “Rolex is actually the most authentic watch brand in the industry” – Maximilian Büsser

The Horology Forum panel “Authentic Poor Rich Sell-Out” discussed the topic of how can you be authentic and commercially successful at the same time. Maximilian Büsser of MB&F and watch architect Alain Silberstein argued that watches should be primarily made for the satisfaction of the creator not the consumer. Obviously, there is joy when there is a positive reaction to one of their designs, but ultimately where they find satisfaction is by making a watch that satiates their own creative mission. An example of this purity of approach was Max’s declaration that he would never do bespoke watches. Whether you buy five watches or 10 watches, it does not matter. He simply refuses to let any unwelcome external influences compromise his designs.

But the soundbite of the hour was actually his declaration of respect for the biggest watch brand of them all. “Rolex is actually the most authentic watch brand in the industry,” Max explained. The reason why, he elaborated, is that they have never looked at what the clients have wanted or offered multiple variations even under wild demand from consumers worldwide.

Watchspot of the day: A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1 ref. 101.521

The beauty of Dubai Watch Week is the collectors who come out to share some of their incredible and rare timepieces. One such watch we spotted in the wild was an A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1 ref. 101.521. The piece is such a deep cut of the catalogue that were you to search the reference number you would not find much coverage or information. That being said, we got the full scoop from the owner. Only a few hundred were produced, with each of the four metal variants (yellow gold, rose gold, white gold, and platinum) paired with a Wellendorf bracelet. Some Lange watches you find on the pre-owned market will have the bracelet, or an aftermarket version of it, Frankensteined onto it. Collectors who want the bracelet experience have to modify the endlinks in order to fit it to their  watch. But this Lange 1 was factory paired with the Wellendorf bracelet, its name derived from the German manufacture that fabricates the bracelet for Lange. The 38.5mm yellow gold case and bracelet are a perfect fit, and the heft on the wrist feels so damn good. The understated dial tone is highly versatile, definitely an “if you know, you know” timepiece.

Release of the day: H. Moser & Cie. Heritage Bronze “Since 1828”

Moser made waves during their Creative Hub session, debuting their first-ever official launch in bronze. A tribute to the Russian roots of the brand, the Heritage Bronze “since 1828” expands the line with an online-only, limited-edition release that features their Cyrillic logo on a black or fumé sunburst dial. Another notable element of the dial are the Globolight® hour numerals, individually hand-carved in luminous ceramic that result in the three-dimensional digits adding further depth to the dial. Each of the 50 pieces are made from Cupro-Aluminium Bronze, an alloy which will develop character gracefully over time – no green case tarnish here. The 42mm case, and its wire lugs, have a classic converted pocket watch aesthetic and it wears quite well on the wrist. Inside the exquisite HMC2000 automatic caliber ticks away, visible beneath an exhibition caseback. The watch is priced at CHF 17,900 and will be sold exclusively through Moser and the Seddiqi family online.

Thanksgiving Dinner

To cap off a wonderful day, the Seddiqi family was kind enough to host a Thanksgiving dinner for the American journalists in attendance. It was such a gracious thing to organise, and we even had the pleasure of sharing our holiday tradition with Hind Seddiqi and Shruti Dileep who joined us for the evening.

While we were all ready to dig into our turkeys, we all took the time to express what we were thankful for. Sure, we were away from our families for the holiday, but this is why the term #watchfam really rings true. I, of course, missed my family that evening, but as many of us expressed that evening we were all so thankful to be able to share the holiday with our watch family and be here in attendance for Dubai Watch Week. And on that note, I hope those reading this in the USA had a wonderful Thanksgiving.