East Meets Best: Dubai Watch Week Brings the Horology Forum to Hong Kong

Watch brands rely heavily on the Asia-Pacific market, and with good reason. According to a study by Horizon Grand View Research Group, the Asia-Pacific luxury watch market is expected to reach $30896.1 million by 2030. And, of course, in 2023, the region generated $22103.6 million in revenue for luxury watch brands. So, it was no surprise that the minds behind Dubai Watch Week opted to host their 3-day Horology Forum in Hong Kong.

If you’ve not been able to attend Dubai Watch Week in its namesake city, let me brief you on what you’re missing. The roughly five-day event happens on odd-numbered years, has no entrance fee, and invites watch enthusiasts, press, and collectors to mingle with each other.

Attendees are also invited to be part of the audience during what is known as Dubai Watch Week’s Horology Forum talks, which center around panel discussions, debates, and seminars across a variety of topics germane to the world of watchmaking. Horology Forum also allows attendees to see the sides of their heroes/heroines that are not often seen.
 

Horology Forum quickly became such a popular part of Dubai Watch Week that, in 2018, Hind Seddiqi (Director General of Dubai Watch Week) and her team decided to take their show on the road in even-numbered years. The first stop was the Christie’s Auction House in London, and it was largely – though not entirely – focused on British watchmaking.

Unfortunately, the pandemic did not allow for travel in 2020, so Horology Forum was virtual that year. Then, in 2022, Horology Forum landed in New York City, focusing on America and American watch brands.

Finally, just under two weeks ago, Horology Forum occurred in eastern Asia in collaboration with the newest Christie’s in The Henderson Building in beautiful Hong Kong.

Similar to previous years, Horology Forum 2024 highlighted watch brands, collector groups, and media personalities in the Asia-Pacific market. Speakers and moderators of Asian heritage were bountiful and included the likes of Austen Chu of Wristcheck, Wei Koh of Revolution, journalist Ming Liu, and collectors such as Sumei Shum, Carson Chan, and Jackie Ho.

Panel discussions ran the gamut in terms of topics with panels such as “The Pendulum Swings East,” which covered eastern Asia’s horological rise, and “Evolution of a Collector: APAC Edition” (moderated by Yours Truly), which followed the timeline of two watch collectors from Singapore and Hong Kong through their watch world journeys.
 

Aside from the panels, there was also what one might call a seminar by Watchbox legend Tim Mosso, which, in roughly a 50-minute period, taught those in attendance about the last three hundred years of watchmaking.

There was a wonderfully whimsical “game” of sorts called “The Watch Industry Starter Pack,” which allowed audience members to help Bertrand Meylan, Suzanne Wong, and Fiona Kruger create a concept, design, and marketing plan for a new watch in under an hour.

OH! And there were classes!
 

Wristcheck’s Insta-popular watchmaker Peter Glomb taught a hands-on class about putting lume on watch hands. There was even a class on crafting and engraving an aluminum desk clock (not to be sold for some ridiculous amount on a different watch publication’s page… if you know, you know).

Every day brought wonderful surprises and created new friendships. Speaking from a personal perspective, this was the eighth time I had been asked to moderate a discussion or debate for Dubai Watch Week. And while jet lag was a bigger challenge to overcome than usual for both my panelists and me, I, like my panelists, enjoyed our time and shed some light on APAC collecting to those in attendance.
 

Also, for those not able to attend this or any of the previous versions of Horology Forum, every talk from this year and years prior has been uploaded to the Dubai Watch Week YouTube channel.

It was announced in Hong Kong that Dubai Watch Week will resume in Dubai in 2025 from November 19th through the 23rd, but this time, in a larger space that is more centrally located at the Dubai Mall, Burj Park, which will welcome both returning guests and new visitors to a space in the shadow of the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa.

Dubai Watch Week has changed the game for the better. There is no event like it in the world, period. Collectors are able to gather together, free of charge, and mingle with those who inspire them.
 

Where else can you have a morning coffee with Maximilian Büsser, pick Ming Thein’s brain over lunch, grab a pint with Peter Speake after dinner, and attend seminars and panel discussions in between? Nowhere!

The Seddiqi Family understands what the word “community” is all about, and every other watch fair that exists should be paying attention and taking notes.

Hope to see you all there in 2025!