Experience Time returns to Dubai for its third edition, February 6 to 9, 2025, bringing together Richemont’s prestigious watchmaking Maisons—A. Lange & Söhne, IWC Schaffhausen, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Panerai, Roger Dubuis, and Vacheron Constantin—along with the debut participation of Montblanc and the newly introduced educational partner, L’ÉCOLE Middle East, School of Jewelry Arts supported by Van Cleef & Arpels. Running across Dubai Mall and L’ÉCOLE Middle East’s premises in Dubai Design District, this event promises an immersive journey into haute horology, blending heritage, craftsmanship, and cutting-edge innovation.

The event features exclusive activations, including IWC’s Virtual Manufacture Visit, Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Atelier d’Antoine educational workshops, and A. Lange & Söhne’s live watchmaking demonstrations. L’ÉCOLE Middle East enriches the experience with expert talks on jewelry craftsmanship and interactive children’s workshops. Additionally, Montblanc offers personalized leather strap customizations, Panerai presents an Italian-inspired “Postcard from Florence” activation, and Roger Dubuis unveils an adrenaline-fueled motorsport-inspired Secret Room. Vacheron Constantin’s Gemsetting Workshop further elevates the experience, allowing guests to step into the world of high jewelry craftsmanship.

More than just an exhibition, Experience Time has evolved into a must-attend event for collectors, connoisseurs, and enthusiasts eager to explore the artistry of fine watchmaking. With live demonstrations, interactive workshops, and exclusive brand showcases, it offers a rare glimpse into the precision and creativity that define the world’s most esteemed Maisons. Appointments and immersive experiences can be booked via the official Experience Time website, ensuring an unforgettable encounter with the art of timekeeping.

Cartier’s Tank Watch is more than just a timepiece; it is a cultural symbol that has endured over a century of change. Since its inception in 1917, the Tank Watch has redefined the concept of modern wristwatches with its bold geometry, minimalist aesthetics, and unmistakable brancards. Inspired by the clean lines of military tanks viewed from above, its revolutionary design blended form and function in a way that was unprecedented at the time. This Art Deco masterpiece quickly became an emblem of style, beloved by icons like Jackie Kennedy and Andy Warhol, and it continues to transcend trends, remaining as relevant today as it was over a century ago.

In 2025, Cartier once again elevates the Tank’s legacy with the introduction of stunning new iterations of the Tank Louis Cartier in pink and white gold. These latest designs stay true to the Tank’s signature DNA while incorporating contemporary updates that enhance its allure. Featuring diamond-set brancards and sleek mechanical movements, the new models strike a perfect balance between timeless elegance and modern sophistication. By maintaining the Tank’s signature details—Roman numerals, chemin de fer chapter rings, and a cabochon-set crown—Cartier ensures the Tank remains instantly recognizable while adapting to the aesthetic sensibilities of today’s clientele.

The Cartier Tank Mini distills the timeless elegance of the iconic Tank into a refined, delicate form, proving that true sophistication lies in presence, not size. Retaining signature elements like Roman numerals, sword-shaped hands, and a sapphire cabochon crown, this exquisite timepiece is available in yellow gold, rose gold, and platinum, seamlessly blending heritage with modernity. Whether styled with a sleek alligator strap or a luxurious gold bracelet, the Tank Mini is a testament to discreet luxury, effortlessly transitioning from day to night. As a symbol of modern femininity, it embodies Cartier’s mastery of design, making it a timeless investment and a future heirloom for those who appreciate understated elegance.

As a testament to Cartier’s artistry and innovation, the Tank remains one of the most iconic designs in the world of watchmaking. It represents more than a timepiece—it embodies a lifestyle, a philosophy, and a celebration of enduring elegance. The latest iterations of the Tank Louis Cartier not only pay homage to its storied past but also solidify its place as a symbol of sophistication and modern luxury for generations to come. With its seamless fusion of history and innovation, the Tank proves that true style is indeed timeless.

All Daytonas are Cosmographs but not all Cosmographs are Daytonas
The name Cosmograph was originally used on the Rolex 6062 Oyster Moonphase watch from the 1950s; where, you must admit, it made a lot more sense as a model name. It then faded away and was resurrected for the 6239 in 1963.

The Daytona name almost didn’t happen.
We tend to think of Rolex as a very focused and decisive firm; this wasn’t the case in the 1950s & 60s; when there was often indecision about model names. The Submariner was almost called the Rolex Skin Diver and some watches found their way to the market with dials so marked, similarly some early Turn-O-Graphs are signed Monometer and the Rolex Daytona was originally planned to be called the Le Mans.

A commercial failure.
Part of the reason why the manual wind Daytona is so valuable today, is that not many were made; essentially, at the time, it was a commercial failure. When I bought my first Rolex in the late 1970s (A 1675 GMT), I enquired about a discount, and the salesman responded, “Sorry sir, we don’t discount Rolex, but if you want one of the Daytonas, I can give you 20% off”.

All gold chronographs are Chronometers but not all say so.
The movement of the manual-wind Daytonas is different in the steel and gold versions. The steel ones have movements regulated in only three positions, whilst all the gold ones are COSC-tested chronometers. However, the dials were only marked to reflect this in the last few years of the 6263 and 6265 production.

Least Rolex named watch
It is well known that all the manual-wind Daytonas used a movement from Valjoux, but what isn’t so well-known is that Rolex didn’t make the cases, dials, or hands, either. Cases came from Charles-René Spielmann (CRS), who also made many of the cases for Omega’s Speedmaster. Singer, Beyeler, or Stern made the dials. Hands came from Universo and other Swiss suppliers. The screw-down crowns came from Boninchi (who were purchased by Rolex in 2001). However, the watches were assembled, timed and tested by Rolex.

The world of luxury horology continues to push boundaries in 2025, unveiling timepieces that lend cutting-edge innovation with timeless craftsmanship. From bold design evolutions to groundbreaking complications, these watches are redefining elegance and precision. Here’s a curated list of the top 10 timepieces making waves this year, each a masterpiece in its own right.

A. Lange & Söhne LANGE 1 & LITTLE LANGE 1

To mark the 30th anniversary of its legendary LANGE 1, A. Lange & Söhne unveils four limited-edition timepieces that celebrate the union of timeless elegance and technical mastery. Offered in platinum with a black onyx dial and pink gold with a blue silver dial, the LANGE 1 and LITTLE LANGE 1 feature the brand’s iconic off-centre dial and signature outsize date, harmonized by the golden ratio. Powered by the refined L121.1 calibre with a 72-hour power reserve, each piece showcases artisanal details like Glashütte ribbing and a hand-engraved balance cock, visible through a sapphire-crystal caseback. These anniversary editions honor the LANGE 1’s legacy of innovation and originality, reaffirming A. Lange & Söhne’s relentless pursuit of perfection in haute horology.

Breitling Chronomat Automatic GMT 40

Breitling unveils the limited-edition Chronomat Automatic GMT 40, a Middle East exclusive that celebrates the region’s culture and style with a vibrant teal dial featuring Indian numerals. Limited to just 200 pieces, this sophisticated timepiece reflects Breitling’s commitment to honoring regional heritage while offering functionality for global travelers. Powered by the COSC-certified Caliber 32, the watch features a dual time zone complication, 200m water resistance, and a 42-hour power reserve, all housed in a robust steel case. Rooted in the iconic Chronomat lineage, this all-purpose sports watch seamlessly blends elegance and practicality, embodying a legacy that spans land, air, and sea.

Bvlgari Serpenti Lady Solotempo BVS100

In 2025, the Year of the Snake, Bvlgari reimagines its iconic Serpenti collection, celebrating the serpent’s timeless symbolism of transformation and renewal. Introducing the Lady Solotempo BVS100, Bvlgari infuses Serpenti Seduttori’s legendary design with mechanical sophistication, featuring an in-house self-winding movement visible through a sapphire case back. The hexagonal bracelet scales, diamond-accented bezel, and cabochon-cut rubellite crown embody femininity and elegance, while the oscillating weight adorned with seven serpent scales symbolizes perpetual renewal. Rooted in Greco-Roman artistry, this reinvention underscores Serpenti’s enduring allure as a masterpiece of horological and artistic innovation.

Chopard Alpine Eagle 41 XP TT

Chopard introduces the Alpine Eagle 41 XP TT, a striking addition to its sporty-chic Alpine Eagle collection. This ultra-thin timepiece showcases the intricate craftsmanship of the L.U.C Calibre 96.17-S, a 3.30mm movement with an off-centre 22-carat gold micro-rotor, offering a 65-hour power reserve. Crafted entirely from grade 5 titanium for exceptional lightness and resistance, the 41mm case features refined proportions and a modern design. Without a dial, the openworked mainplate and bridges reveal the movement’s concentric layout, enhanced by black rhodium plating and gilded gear trains for a technical aesthetic. Inspired by the St. Moritz watch, the Alpine Eagle blends Chopard’s horological innovation with the power of nature, creating a masterpiece for enthusiasts of both elegance and performance.

Hublot Spirit of Big Bang Year of the Snake

Hublot celebrates the Chinese New Year 2025 with the Spirit of Big Bang Year of the Snake, a striking limited edition of 88 pieces. This masterpiece features a golden, intricately engraved snake slithering across the open dial, revealing the workings of the automatic skeleton chronograph calibre HUB4700. The black barrel-shaped ceramic case, topped with a bezel engraved with snake scales, integrates Hublot’s One-Click strap-changing mechanism and a rubber strap embossed with a shimmering snake pattern. Honoring the serpent’s symbolism of wisdom and transformation, this artful timepiece embodies cutting-edge craftsmanship and innovative design, available exclusively at Hublot boutiques and retailers worldwide.

Louis Vuitton Tambour Taiko Spin Time Air Tourbillon

The Tambour Taiko Spin Time Air Tourbillon is a remarkable showcase of Louis Vuitton’s innovative watchmaking DNA, combining the floating display of the Spin Time Air with the elegance of a flying tourbillon. At its heart, a mesmerizing tourbillon performs one full revolution per minute, its steel cage shaped like a Monogram flower, entirely hand-finished to perfection. Engineered to fit the Spin Time cubes and tourbillon mechanism within the case’s central volume, the watch exemplifies precision craftsmanship. Housed in an 18k white gold case, this masterpiece blends technical ingenuity with artistry, setting a new standard in horological design.

Montblanc Star Legacy Limited Edition & Boheme Automatic Date

Montblanc’s latest timepieces embody elegance and craftsmanship with distinctive design elements. The Star Legacy Moonphase Limited Edition features a striking burgundy glacierpatterned dial with sfumato gradients, rose-gold accents, and a moon phase complication set within a 42mm stainless steel case powered by the MB 24.31 automatic movement. Meanwhile, the Bohème Automatic Date blends femininity with sophistication, showcasing a sunbrushed silver-white dial adorned with diamond indexes, rose-gold floral numerals, and a filé d’étoiles pattern. Powered by the calibre MB 24.29, this 30mm stainless steel watch offers timeless style, completed by interchangeable leather straps to suit any occasion.

Piaget Altiplano High Jewellery Métiers d’Art

The Altiplano High Jewellery watch by Piaget is a masterpiece of artistry, blending gem-set skeleton watchmaking, cloisonné enamelling, and ultra-thin craftsmanship. Limited to just eight pieces, this collaboration between Piaget’s Ateliers de l’Extraordinaire and enamel artist Anita Porchet pairs the iconic 1201D1 skeleton movement—adorned with diamonds and sapphires—with vibrant Grand Feu cloisonné enamel in shades of blue, green, and purple. The enamel graces both the dial and, for the first time, the case back, seamlessly integrating with the gradient of baguette-cut stones for a radiant effect. At just 7mm thick, this 40mm timepiece showcases Piaget’s enduring commitment to innovation and elegance, redefining the art of high jewellery and watchmaking.

Tag Heuer Carrera Chronograph Tourbillon

TAG Heuer expands its iconic Carrera collection with two stunning new models: the Carrera Chronograph and the Carrera Chronograph Tourbillon, featuring a smoky black-to-purple gradient dial inspired by the success of the Monaco Chronograph in purple. These timepieces build on the innovative Glassbox design, offering exceptional legibility and visual depth. The Carrera Chronograph, powered by the in-house Heuer 02 movement, boasts an 80-hour power reserve, while the limited-edition Carrera Chronograph Tourbillon, restricted to just 200 pieces, showcases the Heuer 02 tourbillon movement with a 65-hour power reserve. Both models highlight TAG Heuer’s blend of precision engineering, bold aesthetics, and horological expertise, making them essential additions for collectors and enthusiasts.

Vacheron Historiques 222

Vacheron Constantin celebrates 270 years of horological excellence in 2025 with a series of remarkable tributes to its legacy, beginning with the reissue of the Historiques 222 in stainless steel. First introduced in 1977, the iconic sports watch returns with refined updates, including an ergonomic bracelet, sapphire crystal caseback, and the in-house Calibre 2455/2 movement. This anniversary honors the Maison’s enduring dedication to craftsmanship, blending bold creativity with technical mastery, as exemplified by its legacy of innovations, from ultra-thin movements to groundbreaking complications. With the Historiques 222 leading the celebrations, Vacheron Constantin continues its timeless pursuit of excellence and elegance.

Things were different when I started collecting watches back in the early 1980s, for a start, you could walk into any Rolex dealership and buy pretty much any watch you wanted right off the shelf. And, if you were lucky – or just persistent, you could probably even get a discount. Also, the used Rolex business was very different, it existed not to provide hard-to-get models at a premium but to supply people who wanted a Rolex but couldn’t afford a brand-new one.

But the problems facing the used Rolex dealer were the same as today – where to obtain watches to sell, back then lots came from the grey market, retailers who had been sitting on stock for a long time were often happy to get rid of it at a tiny profit. Or when a nation’s currency collapsed, grey market dealers would swoop in with hard currency and empty the stores – I remember this happening during the Far Eastern economic crisis of the 1990s and during the Icelandic economic collapse a decade later.

But in London there was one other source: the Middle East – back then, visitors and expatriates headed to Grey’s Market (near Bond Street tube station), where there was a warren of small shops selling antiques and used watches. Many of these visitors brought with them watches which they had been given by members of various Royal Families in the region; these watches invariably had special dials featuring the crest of the donor. These watches were quietly exchanged for envelopes of £50 notes; the watches would then be sent to local jewellers, and the dials were removed and replaced with standard production dials. And there is another difference: back then you could walk into the London Rolex service centre in Stratford Place and buy as many dials as you wanted. The special dials with the crests would be unceremoniously thrown in the trash.

But the biggest difference is that those watches with the crested dial which have survived are now worth between three to ten times the value of those with the replaced dials.
It’s worth remembering this – in life, the only thing which remains constant – is change.

Back in the 1850s, Swiss watchmaking was genuinely a cottage industry; company owners would visit Swiss farming families in their homes at the end of summer, deliver to them raw watch parts, and, over the winter they would finish them and return them to the owner at the end of the winter. The owner would then have the parts assembled into watches and the farmers would take their cows back up the mountain now that the snow was gone.

America changed all this the exotically named Aaron Lufkin Dennison saw how rifles were mass-produced using identical machine-made parts; he realised that watches could be made similarly. Soon, America was overtaking Switzerland in watch production and also undercutting them in price; then, two unrelated events changed everything. The Swiss sent a delegation to the US to discover how the Americans were able to outproduce them, and a renegade watchmaker who had worked with Dennison and knew everything about the production system went to Switzerland. The delegation produced a report saying that the Swiss industry had to change, and the American Florentine Aristo Jones was on hand to teach them how to do it.

However, what Jones didn’t teach the Swiss was the incredible costs involved in setting up a factory before it could produce a single watch. Dennison’s operation had gone bankrupt three or four times before becoming very profitable, and the same fate awaited Jones. He went broke, and the factory was bought by a local businessman, Johannes Raussenbach. After his death, the firm was run by his son (also named Johannes), who ran it for 20 years. Unfortunately, he had no sons, so the business was now run by the husbands of his two daughters. One of the husbands was the famed psychologist Carl Gustav Jung, and this was how the father of analytical psychology became a director of IWC. It was this directorship which funded almost all of Jung’s research over the years.

As you might expect from the family name of the owners, the Raussenbachs and the location of the factory, Schaffhausen, IWC is in the German-speaking part of Switzerland, and almost completely surrounded by Germany, it is separated from Germany by the River Rhine. Its proximity to Germany came at a cost in April 1944, when USAAF bombers miscalculated their aiming point and bombed the IWC factory instead of their intended target across the border. Speaking of WW2, IWC was one of the very few Swiss watch firms that provided watches to both Germany and Britain during the conflict; let’s call that Swiss neutrality.

Swiss luxury watchmaker Oris has unveiled its latest collaboration with The Muppets, introducing the ProPilot X Miss Piggy Edition. Building on the success of the ProPilot X Kermit Edition, this stunning timepiece features a vibrant pink dial adorned with a baguette diamond at 12 o’clock, housed in a 34mm stainless steel case. Designed to capture Miss Piggy’s bold personality and timeless charm, the watch combines elegance and playfulness with a hidden gem: a polished case back revealing Miss Piggy’s portrait on a rotating lilac rotor.

Beyond its design, the ProPilot X Miss Piggy Edition celebrates Miss Piggy as a cultural icon who embodies confidence and individuality. Oris brought together six influential women worldwide, including jewelry designer Century Xie and Olympic swimmer Yusra Mardini, to highlight how Miss Piggy inspires women to embrace authenticity and pursue their dreams unapologetically. This collaboration reflects Oris’s dedication to creating meaningful partnerships that go beyond traditional watchmaking.

Rolf Studer, Oris Co-CEO, describes the timepiece as “for fabulous, independent individuals,” perfectly encapsulating Miss Piggy’s spirit. With its bold design, high-quality Swiss-made automatic movement, and luxurious craftsmanship, the ProPilot X Miss Piggy Edition brings joy and glamour to every wearer. Exclusively available at Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons boutiques in the UAE, this limited-edition watch is as unforgettable as the diva it celebrates.

From its groundbreaking debut in 1969 to its status as a cultural icon, the TAG Heuer Monaco has solidified its place in the pantheon of legendary timepieces. First introduced with its daring square case, left-hand crown, and striking blue dial, the Monaco was a bold statement of innovation and elegance. Its connection to motorsport and cinema, notably through Steve McQueen in the 1971 film Le Mans, elevated its status as a symbol of speed, precision, and style. Over the decades, TAG Heuer has continually refined the Monaco, blending its racing heritage with modern advancements to create timepieces that embody the thrill of the track and the artistry of Swiss craftsmanship.

The latest iteration of the TAG Heuer Monaco Chronograph introduces a vibrant pink skeleton dial, merging playful aesthetics with its rich legacy. Inspired by the dazzling lights of Las Vegas, this striking design features a lightweight titanium case with a sleek black DLC coating, complemented by bold pink accents on the chronograph counters, hands, and seconds hand. Powered by the in-house Calibre Heuer 02, visible through the skeletonized dial and sapphire caseback, the watch offers unparalleled precision and reliability while showcasing its intricate mechanics.

Balancing style and functionality, the strap combines leather and rubber for versatile wear, making it perfect for both everyday adventures and high-octane moments. This modern masterpiece captures the essence of individuality and boldness, reminding wearers to embrace life with the same energy and excitement as the city that inspired it. The TAG Heuer Monaco Pink Chronograph is a testament to the brand’s commitment to innovation, celebrating a legacy that continues to evolve with every tick.