A fine watchmaking exhibition will be held in the UAE this fall with several high-profile brands in attendance at the inaugural event. 

Salon des Grandes Complications is set to debut in Dubai from November 25 to 27 at Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). Said to be the first of its kind in the Middle East, Salon des Grandes Complications will offer a platform for the fine watchmaking sector to engage with watch collectors and enthusiasts from across the region, according to the organisers.

The exhibition will feature timepieces by some of the world's most celebrated watchmakers and is set to thrill connoisseurs with several rare and limited edition pieces. Visitors will be offered insights into the highest level of watchmaking by both historically renowned manufactories and acclaimed modern-day independent watchmakers.

Each brand will present their novelties and certain horological highlights and there will be live demonstrations by various watchmakers and engravers flown in especially for the exhibition.

Participants include A Lange & Söhne’s, CVSTOS, Greubel Forsey, Grieb & Benzinger, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Montblanc, Piaget and Vacheron Constantin, amongst others.

“Salon des Grandes Complications will bring together some of the greatest horological masterpieces of today, and the masters who make them, for the first time under one roof in the UAE. Guests will encounter a hands-on experience of the heritage, craftsmanship and artistry behind the brands and their commended timepieces. As the leading importer of luxury timepieces in the region, the UAE is a natural location to host an exhibition of such a calibre and we are excited to be presenting the first annual edition,” said Nader Freiha, Director of MPP Middle East, the organiser of the event which also publishes Arabian Watches & Jewellery magazine.

Exhibiting brands have a plethora of extraordinary specialties and accolades between them, with deeply-rooted and distinctive philosophies. From working with only in-house crafted movements to hand-engraving of never-to-be-seen microscopic parts, creating the most complicated wristwatches and the thinnest, from being the one of the oldest watchmakers to the latest innovators and melding history with modern-day technical advances, each of the manufactories ultimately crafts timepieces that have become cornerstones of the watchmaking world.

Supported by Audi Corporate, Bang & Olufsen and Christie’s, with Watch Anish as official media partner, the inaugural edition will take place in line with the DIFC 10th anniversary celebrations and is set to become a yearly event.