Abdul Hamied Seddiqi, center left, with Jean-Frédéric Dufour. (Photo: Instagram/@seddiqi_uae)
Dubai Watch Week announced Wednesday it will return for its seventh edition at a new and expanded venue in Dubai Mall, Burj Park. This year’s edition stands out for the rare public appearance of Rolex CEO Jean-Frédéric Dufour at the event.
Dubai Watch Week is held every two years in mid-November and organized by Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons. It’s the only fair outside Watches and Wonders where Rolex stages an exhibition.
Dufour will open the program in conversation with Abdul Hamied Seddiqi, chairman of Seddiqi Holding. They will discuss the importance of mechanical watchmaking, as a human art, in an age of AI, technology and uniformity. The keynote is titled “The Time to Act Is Now — A Note to the Watch Industry.”
Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons is the Middle East's largest luxury watch retailer and was the first in the UAE to represent Rolex in 1952.
Whether Dufour will comment on his meeting with President Donald J. Trump at the US Open last month remains to be seen. Dufour’s last interview was in April 2024.
The discussion will be live-streamed on Dubai Watch Week’s page on Nov. 19 at 12:00pm.