The Bulgari MVSA High Jewellery timepiece is priced at Dh4.19 million. Courtesy The Portsmouth Group
The Bulgari MVSA High Jewellery timepiece is priced at Dh4.19 million. Courtesy The Portsmouth Group

Dh4.19m MVSA High Jewellery Bulgari watch to be on show in Dubai



With dozens of diamonds, rubies and emeralds, it is certainly not the type of watch to don for a quick trip to the mall.

At Dh4.19 million, the Bulgari MVSA High Jewellery timepiece is a one-off – and the most expensive in a line-up of the world’s most exclusive watches.

Next month they will be shown in Dubai, under tight security, in an exhibition arranged by Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève as part of Dubai Watch Week.

Described as the Oscars of the watchmaking world, the 72 watches are competing for the title in 10 categories including innovative, sports and jewellery. The winners are announced in Geneva next month.

They will appear in Dubai from October 18 to 21 as part of an international tour which is also visiting Hong Kong and Seoul.

“Some are actually from private collections. Some are coming to the public for the first time,” says Melika Yazdjerdi, director of Dubai Watch Week and head of corporate communication for Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons, which with 65 brands is among the largest watch sellers in the region.

“Some are one-off pieces or exclusive pieces and the nice opportunity is that there are brands outside the Sediqqi portfolio. It’s about the wider region and looking at the watch industry.”

The watches are worth more than US$5m in total and include the 410,400 Swiss francs (Dh1.54m) The Charming Bird by Jaquet Droz, which features a miniature singing bird.

None of the watches on show will be available to buy at the event, although Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons does sell some of the brands and timepieces that will feature, including the Horological machine number 6 by MB&F, which is worth 213,900 Swiss francs.

The exhibition is free to the public and visitors will be able to get close – although not too close – to the timepieces.

“They are all behind cases because some of them belong to personal collectors and this is why in terms of security, safety and insurance, we are very careful,” says Ms Yazdjerdi.

The Dh4.19 Bulgari watch, for example is loaded with jewels.

“As far as the mechanics are concerned it is a quartz watch,” says Ms Yazdjerdi. “A lot of jewels have been used – rubies, diamonds, emeralds – and the magnitude of the gems is very unique.

“We will have security on site at all times, 24/7. When you are dealing with a consignment this valuable, you make sure you take all the necessary precautions.”

q&a rich horological timeline

Melika Yazdjerdi, the Dubai Watch Week director and head of corporate communication at Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons, tells Gillian Duncan more about the horological event:

Tell me about Dubai Watch Week.

It is a non-commercial event and we are holding it for the first time this October from 18 to 22. An event of this magnitude has never been held in the watch industry before. All the big major events that you have globally are purely commercial. There hasn’t been a platform dedicated to education and raising awareness for the industry specifically, and this is the main objective.

So why is Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons hosting it?

We are celebrating our 65th anniversary this year but are one of the first registered companies to work with the government of Switzerland. So as far as horology and the family is concerned, there is a very deep-routed history between the two. And we have been really established as the curators of time here in the region and we take the role as the educator very seriously.

Aside from the GPHG exhibition, what other public events will take place during the week?

From October 18 to 22, we have the Rebels of Horology exhibition that’s focused on the independent brands. Then we have another event that we are going to be adding to our portfolio, which is The Dubai Mall exhibition. In Dubai Mall we have 18 brands exhibiting and the theme for that exhibition is the history behind each brand. They are going to bring special pieces from their archives.

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Weekends and holidays: Talking about animals or visiting his farm in Australia

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Employment lawyer Meriel Schindler of Withers Worldwide shares her tips on achieving equal pay
 
Do your homework
Make sure that you are being offered a fair salary. There is lots of industry data available, and you can always talk to people who have come out of the organisation. Where I see people coming a cropper is where they haven’t done their homework.
 
Don’t be afraid to negotiate

It’s quite standard to negotiate if you think an offer is on the low side. The job is unlikely to be withdrawn if you ask for money, and if that did happen I’d question whether you want to work for an employer who is so hypersensitive.
 
Know your worth
Women tend to be a bit more reticent to talk about their achievements. In my experience they need to have more confidence in their own abilities – men will big up what they’ve done to get a pay rise, and to compete women need to turn up the volume.
 
Work together
If you suspect men in your organisation are being paid more, look your boss in the eye and say, “I want you to assure me that I’m paid equivalent to my peers”. If you’re not getting a straight answer, talk to your peer group and consider taking direct action to fix inequality.

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Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

Joker: Folie a Deux

Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson

Director: Todd Phillips 

Rating: 2/5

The specs: 2018 Audi R8 V10 RWS

Price: base / as tested: From Dh632,225

Engine: 5.2-litre V10

Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic

Power: 540hp @ 8,250rpm

Torque: 540Nm @ 6,500rpm

Fuel economy, combined: 12.4L / 100km

Profile of Bitex UAE

Date of launch: November 2018

Founder: Monark Modi

Based: Business Bay, Dubai

Sector: Financial services

Size: Eight employees

Investors: Self-funded to date with $1m of personal savings

COMPANY%20PROFILE
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How green is the expo nursery?

Some 400,000 shrubs and 13,000 trees in the on-site nursery

An additional 450,000 shrubs and 4,000 trees to be delivered in the months leading up to the expo

Ghaf, date palm, acacia arabica, acacia tortilis, vitex or sage, techoma and the salvadora are just some heat tolerant native plants in the nursery

Approximately 340 species of shrubs and trees selected for diverse landscape

The nursery team works exclusively with organic fertilisers and pesticides

All shrubs and trees supplied by Dubai Municipality

Most sourced from farms, nurseries across the country

Plants and trees are re-potted when they arrive at nursery to give them room to grow

Some mature trees are in open areas or planted within the expo site

Green waste is recycled as compost

Treated sewage effluent supplied by Dubai Municipality is used to meet the majority of the nursery’s irrigation needs

Construction workforce peaked at 40,000 workers

About 65,000 people have signed up to volunteer

Main themes of expo is  ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ and three subthemes of opportunity, mobility and sustainability.

Expo 2020 Dubai to open in October 2020 and run for six months

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Name: ARDH Collective
Based: Dubai
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector: Sustainability
Total funding: Self funded
Number of employees: 4
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
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Thank You for Banking with Us

Director: Laila Abbas

Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum

Rating: 4/5

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The specs: 2018 Nissan Patrol Nismo

Price: base / as tested: Dh382,000

Engine: 5.6-litre V8

Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic

Power: 428hp @ 5,800rpm

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How to protect yourself when air quality drops

Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.

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Penalties: Barrett (7)

British & Irish Lions
Tries: Faletau, Murray
Penalties: Farrell (4)
Conversions: Farrell 
 

The Two Popes

Director: Fernando Meirelles

Stars: Anthony Hopkins, Jonathan Pryce 

Four out of five stars

As You Were

Liam Gallagher

(Warner Bros)

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If you go

The flights
There are various ways of getting to the southern Serengeti in Tanzania from the UAE. The exact route and airstrip depends on your overall trip itinerary and which camp you’re staying at. 
Flydubai flies direct from Dubai to Kilimanjaro International Airport from Dh1,350 return, including taxes; this can be followed by a short flight from Kilimanjaro to the Serengeti with Coastal Aviation from about US$700 (Dh2,500) return, including taxes. Kenya Airways, Emirates and Etihad offer flights via Nairobi or Dar es Salaam.   

Abu Dhabi World Pro 2019 remaining schedule:

Wednesday April 24: Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship, 11am-6pm

Thursday April 25:  Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship, 11am-5pm

Friday April 26: Finals, 3-6pm

Saturday April 27: Awards ceremony, 4pm and 8pm

The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
The specs

Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 620hp from 5,750-7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm from 3,000-5,750rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh1.05 million ($286,000)

Specs%3A%202024%20McLaren%20Artura%20Spider
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203.0-litre%20twin-turbo%20V6%20and%20electric%20motor%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EMax%20power%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20700hp%20at%207%2C500rpm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EMax%20torque%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20720Nm%20at%202%2C250rpm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Eight-speed%20dual-clutch%20auto%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E0-100km%2Fh%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203.0sec%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETop%20speed%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E330kph%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20From%20Dh1.14%20million%20(%24311%2C000)%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Our family matters legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

Cultural fiesta

What: The Al Burda Festival
When: November 14 (from 10am)
Where: Warehouse421,  Abu Dhabi
The Al Burda Festival is a celebration of Islamic art and culture, featuring talks, performances and exhibitions. Organised by the Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development, this one-day event opens with a session on the future of Islamic art. With this in mind, it is followed by a number of workshops and “masterclass” sessions in everything from calligraphy and typography to geometry and the origins of Islamic design. There will also be discussions on subjects including ‘Who is the Audience for Islamic Art?’ and ‘New Markets for Islamic Design.’ A live performance from Kuwaiti guitarist Yousif Yaseen should be one of the highlights of the day. 

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Sam Smith

Where: du Arena, Abu Dhabi

When: Saturday November 24

Rating: 4/5

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Top 5 concerns globally:

1. Unemployment

2. Spread of infectious diseases

3. Fiscal crises

4. Cyber attacks

5. Profound social instability

Top 5 concerns in the Mena region

1. Energy price shock

2. Fiscal crises

3. Spread of infectious diseases

4. Unmanageable inflation

5. Cyber attacks

Source: World Economic Foundation

The specs

  Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now

The specs: 2018 BMW R nineT Scrambler

Price, base / as tested Dh57,000

Engine 1,170cc air/oil-cooled flat twin four-stroke engine

Transmission Six-speed gearbox

Power 110hp) @ 7,750rpm

Torque 116Nm @ 6,000rpm

Fuel economy, combined 5.3L / 100km

Results

Ashraf Ghani 50.64 per cent

Abdullah Abdullah 39.52 per cent

Gulbuddin Hekmatyar 3.85 per cent

Rahmatullah Nabil 1.8 per cent

Naga
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