Dubai Watch Week
Five Dubai Watch Week Debuts That Play to Brand Strengths
Many releases at this year’s show seem to lean into a sense of extravagance, both technologically and decoratively. Today, we look at five new models debuted at the show that stand as object lessons on providing eye-catching excitement without straying too far from core brand values.
By Mike Espindle
Executive Editor
From the extraordinary Ulysse Nardin x Urwerk collaboration to Chopard’s most complicated timepiece ever to Bulgari’s exotic design mash-up, the novelties released during Dubai Watch Week 2025 certainly gave the watch-admiring public plenty of envelope-pushing surprises to gasp at, as seeing things you’ve never quite seen before was the order of the day.
That said, just as much breathtaking excitement can be had from watchmakers that “stuck to their knitting,” in a sense, by bringing apt, thoughtful, iterative progress to timepieces that define the very soul of their brands.
Today, we’re looking at a notable quintet that achieved just that.
Oris ProPilot Date
The Hölstein-based watchmaker has created many popular models over the years. Still, the ProPilot Date, despite being one of its more recent creations, is among its most instantly recognizable. The re-envisioned 6-piece line unveiled by Oris in Dubai, while redesigned and upscaled, toes the line of the “aviation watch for everyday adventures” message so famously associated with the model that first debuted in 2014.
The 41mm steel case adds to the new ProPilots’ wrist appeal with sharper visual lines all around, satin and polished finishes, refinements to the pilot-watch-standard oversize crown, and a new clasp. But the tell-tale knurled bezel, extremely legible dial design, and prominent date window at 6 o’clock remain true to the line’s sporty, high-flying intent.
In rich black, organic moss, and clean chalk dial colors, an unpretentious daily wearer never looked so good, whether on a color-matched suede strap or a steel link bracelet. Powered by the 41-hour power reserve Oris Caliber 733 automatic movement, the new ProPilot Date models list for $2,550 on metal and CHF $2,350 on a strap.
Vanguart Black Hole Tourbillon
The upstart La-Chaux-de-Fonds atelier (founded in 2017 by Audemars Piguet, Girard-Perregaux, and Renaud & Papi veterans) has focused on unbridled creativity combined with the best of advanced, unexpected watchmaking techniques. Vanguart’s disruptive Black Hole tourbillons (with their structurally futuristic and seamless, almost biomorphic case design) have become pillars of its unique visual language.
New models, dubbed the Black Hole-Arabic and Black Hole-Rose Gold, bring even more fascination to the maker’s convex universe of “floating” central flying tourbillon and concentric animated time-telling rings (the outer ring for hour, and the inner rings for minute digits) that circle, and descend into, this visual “gravitational field.”
By the term “Arabic,” we mean that true sweeping Eastern Arabic numerals adorn the 45mm titanium Black Hole-Arabic’s time-indicating rings. While a somewhat expected riff for a timepiece making an Emirati debut, the flowing numerals add a level of elegance and exotic mystery to the whole package.
Likewise, the use of luxurious rose gold for the 45mm case and select internal components significantly glows up the Black Hole-Rose Gold with some expert finishing that puts the noble metal’s light- and eye-catching nature center stage.
Both are limited to 8 pieces each and list for CHF 355,000 for the Arabic numeral execution and CHF 410,000 for the rose gold version.
MB&F Horological Machine No. 11 “Art Deco”
The inventions of watchmaker Max Büsser’s collaborative creative efforts take the form of “horological machines,” or simply “HMs” (with 2023’s HM11, created with designer Eric Giroud, being the most recent). However, every MB&F machine leaves plenty of experimental room for unexpected advancements and design riffs within each inventive canvas.
The HM11’s core architecture of a central flying tourbillon surrounded by four conical, rotatable display “rooms” (one for hours/minutes, one for power reserve, one for the crown, and one for, interestingly, ambient temperature) at 90-degree angles to the plane of the watch surface serves as an aptly residential metaphor for a timepiece’s home in 42mm Grade 5 titanium.
An Art Deco redux of this “house” just seems like a natural. Strong early-20th-century architectural design notes abound: artful skeletonized sunbeam motifs replace conical rods. Red-stained-glass-effect details on the hands are a vibrant nod to the role Tiffany decor played in the movement, while two-toned rings and vintage typography add to the period geometry and organic fluidity of the Art Deco concept. An overall upward recast of the bridges and other components taps into the design movement’s illustrious “age of skyscrapers” zeitgeist.
Two editions of the HM11 Art Deco, limited to 10 pieces each, are offered: a blue dial plate with 3N gold-toned bridges and a green dial plate with 5N rose gold-toned bridges, both priced at 198,000 CHF.
Bremont Terra Nova Aventurine
While Bremont watches have always carried a sporty flair and appeal, under new ownership, and with newly minted CEO Davide Cerrato’s design inspiration, the modern era of the brand seems to be defined by pushing the boundaries of what a sports watch can actually be, in terms of both luxurious material and dial design.
While we saw Terra Nova Jumping Hour watches debut in steel last year, that proved a fascinating, dramatic manual-digital display can live just fine within an appealing sports watch format—thank you very much—the new Bremont Terra Nova Jumping Hour Aventurine pushes that successful precept even further into unexpected territory.
First off, last year’s steel Terra Nova Jumping Hour watches had their hour window and crescent minute gauge run along a north-south axis with a compass-designed central small seconds function.
The newly debuted Terra Nova Aventurine joins the hour window and minute gauge together at 9 o’clock, and the central small seconds has been replaced with a more traditional sweeping central seconds hand. Last year’s 38mm steel case has been jumped up to 40.5mm and augmented with a delightful “frosted” steel treatment.
All of this is, no doubt, a thoughtful redux to allow the stunning, night sky of the aventurine dial to work its visual magic. Limited to 50 pieces, this sophisticated take on the Terra Nova retails for $10,300.
Daniel Roth Tourbillon Platinum
Under La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton’s revival, which started in 2023, we have seen the initial yellow gold tourbillon version of the Daniel Roth double ellipse case approach in a very limited “souscription” basis, followed by the rose gold tourbillon Souscription in 2024, and a thin Extra Plat Souscription execution, sans tourbillon, at the beginning of this year. All delivered in very, very, limited numbers.
This new Tourbillon Platinum execution both extends the precious metallic nature of the project and draws a direct line to the iconic platinum 2187/C187 Tourbillon from 1988, the year the legendary watchmaker first created his own eponymous brand.
The brand’s core Calibre DR001 movement has been elevated with three polished gold chantons for this new version, and the power reserve has been increased to 80 hours.
Unlike the original Tourbillon Souscription, the exacting, expertly decorated and finished movement can be visually enjoyed via a sapphire crystal case back. A treat for the eyes to match the distinctive dial’s gorgeous Roman hours and minutes dial, its curved triple-tiered seconds indicator, and signature Roth-branded ribbon “moustache.”
The new Tourbillon Platinum retails for CHF 185,000.