A Look Back At Dubai Watch Week 2021 With Hind Seddiqi

From completely redesigning the event to account for the reality of COVID-19 to the new format and first-time exhibitors of Dubai Watch Week 2021, Hind Seddiqi and her team have exceeded all expectations.

What makes the show so vibrant, and what should we expect from the future editions of the show? Discover all the answers in our interview.
 

Now that some time has passed, what are your first impressions of the fifth edition of Dubai Watch Week?

The fifth edition of Dubai Watch Week was set to be the most engaging edition yet, and we are humbled by the responses we have received from the event. We were honored to reunite with our peers in the industry, celebrate watchmaking, and provide a platform for education and sharing knowledge between brands, collectors, media, and the general public.

Our mission has always been, and will continue to be, to educate audiences but drive a community and relaxed feel throughout the event. We felt we were able to achieve this during the fifth edition.
 

For you, what are the most important Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) of Dubai Watch Week?

A big goal for us is the feedback we receive from our peers. Each year we work to ensure that we collate their thoughts and endeavor to bear them all in mind when planning future editions.

Ultimately, we too are eager to learn and want to ensure participants and attendees find the event insightful and engaging and that the platform pioneers transformation in our industry. And as the recipient of the “Special Jury Prize” at GPHG 2021, we were humbled by the warm response and appreciation for the event. We hope to continue to build on this.

Another important goal for us during the fifth edition was to encourage the wider general public in the UAE to attend. The creation of a broader, more appealing program ensured this was possible, as we had over 16,000 visitors over the course of the event.
 

What makes the show so vibrant, in my opinion, is the state of openness. In some ways, it even reminds me of an Apple Store – open for everyone, educative, with no pressure of sales. What are your plans for DWW's future?

Dubai Watch Week is a biennial event. However, in the years we do not host DWW, we work towards the traveling edition of the Horology Forum. As a key pillar of the event, the Horology Forum functions as a platform to tackle key topics in the luxury and horology industry while inviting key speakers who are leaders in their respective fields to share their views.

For the 2021 edition, we received a lot of positive responses about the breadth of the speakers invited to participate and look forward to continuing this in 2022. We are considered to be the disruptors of watch exhibitions and look forward to facilitating the meeting of minds across our industry and industries alike. We are yet to announce any details for the traveling edition of the Horology Forum, so stay tuned for further updates.