The Best New Watches from Dubai Watch Week 2023
Established in 2015 and taking place every two years, Dubai Watch Week has grown into one of the most important events in the watch industry calendar. This year’s edition was the biggest yet, with over 55 watch brands participating — and no watch event is complete without some new pieces to mull over. We perused all the timepiece novelties and picked out what we think are five of the best new watches from Dubai Watch Week 2023; read on to find out what they are.
MB&F HM11 Architect Watch
It’s no secret that we’re big fans of MB&F here at Luxury Bazaar so each time the independent watch brand has something up its sleeve, we pay attention. Dubai Watch Week 2023 saw the arrival of the MB&F HM11 Architect, yet another wild creation from Maximilian Büsser and his friends. The watch is inspired by the architecture of bubble houses from the sixties, complete with four “rooms” and “corridors” that connect them.
The entire MB&F HM11 Architect watch rotates on its foundation to not only allow the wearer to choose the watch’s orientation but also to wind the movement. The rooms, which are designed to read driver style, are home to an hour and minute display, a power reserve indicator, a temperature gauge, and the world’s first sapphire crown. At the heart of the house, or watch, is the central flying tourbillon, whirling away under a double-domed sapphire roof. MB&F made two versions of the HM11 Architect watch — both in titanium but one with a blue dial plate and white rubber strap and the other with a red gold plate and khaki green rubber strap. Each example is limited to only 25 pieces.
MB&F HM11 Architect Specs
| Case size | 42mm diameter x 23mm height; four parabolic “rooms” |
| Material | Grade 5 titanium and blue dial plate (ref. 11.TL.BL-C) Grade 5 titanium and red gold dial plate (ref. 11.TL.RG-C) |
| Functions | Flying tourbillon, hours and minutes, power reserve indicator, temperature measurement |
| Movement | Manual winding movement, 18,000bph/2.5Hz, 96 hours power reserve, 364 components |
| Strap | White rubber for ref. 11.TL.BL-C Green khaki rubber for ref. 11.TL.RG-C |
| 2023 Retail Price | $230,000 |
| Limited | 25 examples for each reference |
More about MB&F Watches: MB&F Introduces the Limited LMX Paris Edition Watch
Ulysse Nardin Freak One OPS Watch
For Dubai Watch Week 2023, Ulysse Nardin unveiled a new edition of its groundbreaking Freak One watch that debuted earlier in 2023. The Freak One OPS watch is outfitted in a tactical black and green colorway, featuring a 44mm black DLC-coated titanium case, Carbonium (a carbon-based composite material) bezel, and an integrated khaki green rubber strap.
As is customary for the Freak One model, the watch forgoes the traditional dial, crown, and hands. Instead, its completely visible movement is fitted with a one-hour orbital carrousel tourbillon, which doubles as the minute hand whereas the hour hand is a pointer set on a rotating disc positioned under the movement. Setting the time is done via rotating the bezel while winding the movement is done through a mechanism on the caseback.
Ulysse Nardin Freak One OPS Specs
| Reference | 2403-500-8A/3A |
| Case | 44mm, Black DLC titanium |
| Bezel | Carbonium |
| Functions | Hours, minutes, flying carousel movement rotating around its own axis |
| Movement | Caliber UN-240 Manufacture self-winding, 21,600bph, 90 hours power reserve Silicon oversized oscillator and balance spring DIAMonSIL treated escapement |
| Strap | Black and khaki “ballistic” rubber or two-tone black and khaki rubber strap |
| Water Resistance | 30 meters |
| 2023 Retail Price | $66,500 |
More about Ulysse Nardin Watches:
Ulysse Nardin Blast Tourbillon in Blue and Rose Gold
Ulysse Nardin Genghis Khan Tourbillon Minute Repeater
Zenith x Time+Tide Defy Skyline Skeleton Night Surfer El Primero Watch
For its Dubai Watch Week 2023 release, Zenith teamed up with Australian watch blog Time+Tide again to release the sequel to the Night Surfer watch from 2021. The result is the new Zenith Defy Skyline Skeleton Night Surfer El Primero watch, with a micro-blasted titanium case and integrated bracelet in addition to a skeletonized gradient blue dial.
Not only is this the first titanium Defy Skyline Skeleton and the first to have a gradient dial, but it is also the first to incorporate lume on the movement’s star-shaped bridges. Powered by the new 5Hz El Primero 3620 SK high-beat movement and limited to only 200 examples, this handsome Zenith watch will likely sell out just like the first collaborative watch with Time+Tide.
Zenith x Time+Tide Defy Skyline Skeleton Night Surfer El Primero Specs
| Reference | 97.9300.3620/79.I001 |
| Case | 41 mm, micro-blasted titanium |
| Dial | Skeletonized gradient blue |
| Functions | Hours, minutes, 1/10th of a second indicator |
| Movement | Zenith El Primero 3620 SK self-winding, 36,000vph, silicone escapement, 60 hours power reserve |
| Bracelet/Strap | Microblasted titanium bracelet Additional night blue rubber strap with folding clasp |
| Water Resistance | 100 meters |
| Limited | 200 examples only |
| 2023 Retail Price | $12,000 |
De Bethune DBD Evergreen Digitale Watch
In spring 2023, De Bethune launched the DBD “Season 2” with music producer Swizz Beatz as an evolution of the De Bethune DBS Digitale watch. At Dubai Watch Week 2023, De Bethune brought back the watch in the form of the DBD Evergreen Digitale, dressed in green and featuring its characteristic digital display housed inside a uniquely shaped titanium case.
That green dial, which comes alive with Côtes de Genève vertical striping and a trio of rubies, is where we see the apertures that serve to digitally indicate the jumping hour, minutes, day, date, and month. The back of the watch offers a view of the hand-wound Caliber DB2044 movement while the case gets its distinctive shape from both the crown placed at 12 o’clock and the ogive- (a pointed arch, like the end of a bullet) shaped lugs.
De Bethune DBD Evergreen Digitale Specs
| Reference | DBDRE |
| Case | 42.6mm, polished grade 5 titanium |
| Dial | Green with Côtes de Genève stripes |
| Functions | Digitally displayed jumping hours, minutes, day, date, month |
| Movement | Caliber DB2044 manual winding movement, 28,800bph, 5-day power reserve |
| Strap | Black alligator Additional brown textile |
| Limited | 20 examples |
| 2023 Retail Price | CHF 105,000 (approximately $170,000) |
H. Moser & Cie Streamliner Small Seconds Micro-Rotor Watch
The Streamliner is quickly becoming a hero model of H. Moser & Cie. At Dubai Watch Week 2023, the independent watchmaker treated us to a new iteration of its integrated bracelet watch series with the fresh Streamliner Small Seconds Micro-Rotor watch. While we’ve seen several versions of the Streamliner before including central seconds, perpetual calendar, tourbillon, minute repeater, and chronograph, this is the first time the watch is fitted with a small seconds indicator.
In true Moser fashion, the dial of the watch is spectacular. The translucent and textured Aqua Blue fumé Grand Feu enamel dial is set inside a 39mm steel case and the watch is powered by the new HMC 500 automatic movement furnished with a platinum micro-rotor. Finishing off the look of the minimalist watch is the stainless steel integrated bracelet.
H. Moser & Cie. Streamliner Small Seconds Micro-Rotor Specs
| Reference | 6500-1200 |
| Case | 39mm, stainless steel |
| Dial | Aqua Blue fumé Grand Feu enamel |
| Functions | Central hour and minute, small seconds indicator |
| Movement | Caliber HMC 500, self-winding, platinum micro-rotor, 74-hour power reserve |
| Bracelet | Stainless steel integrated |
| Water Resistance | 120 meters |
| 2023 Retail Price | CHF 29,900 (approximately $34,000) |
More About H. Moser & Cie Watches: 5 Reasons Not to Sleep on H. Moser & Cie Watches
The Independents at Dubai Watch Week 2023
While Dubai Watch Week hosts plenty of big watch brands, we love that the fair is a platform for many of the indies to showcase their creations.
The steady rise of independent modern high-end watchmakers such as MB&F, Moser, De Bethune, and others allows us to see more of the avant-garde side of the often conservative luxury watch industry — and that’s always a welcomed breath of fresh air in our book.
Other Watch Industry Events:
The Most Trending Brands from Watches & Wonders 2023, According to Google
And The Winners Are… the Winning Watches of 2023 GPHG
The Best Releases From Geneva Watch Days 2023
The Best & Worst from the 2023 Only Watch Auction Block
Leave a Reply