This February, Vacheron Constantin — the Swiss watch maison founded in 1755 — kicked off a year-long celebration of its 270th anniversary in Abu Dhabi with an exhibition and pop-up entitled “The Quest”. Running until April at the Al Qana, the exhibition highlights the brand’s rich heritage and foundations, while spotlighting craftsmanship and innovation. The installation will then expand into other global markets.

The starting location of Abu Dhabi was chosen carefully by Vacheron Constantin for its status as a thriving cultural and creative hub in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and the resonance of luxury brands with a rich heritage in the market.

To that end, luxury brands are increasingly turning their attention to the UAE, which is proving resilient despite wider market uncertainty. The UAE’s luxury market is expected to accelerate in growth in the years ahead — at a CAGR of 3.0 percent between 2024 and 2030, according to Euromonitor.

However, in order to authentically engage the local luxury consumer, brands like Vacheron Constantin must start by demonstrating their resonance and respect for the region.

“There are a lot of common values that we share with the UAE and Abu Dhabi — craftsmanship and tradition, creativity, arts and craft — things which are really at the core of our watchmaking arts. For that reason, it makes sense to start here in Abu Dhabi,” shared Christian Selmoni, Vacheron Constantin’s style and heritage director, on stage.

Vacheron Constantin has also launched a new watch design to coincide with the celebrations, with 23 complications set to the Abu Dhabi sky chart.

“Both Vacheron Constantin and Abu Dhabi have a rich heritage and rely on traditions, while fostering innovation — pushing the boundaries of their respective industries,” Selmoni told BoF after the event.

To unpack this topic, BoF and Vacheron Constantin co-hosted a panel at the exhibition’s opening. The panel, moderated by BoF’s president Nick Blunden, featured Selmoni alongside Alia Al Shamsi, author, artist and head of cultural programmes at the Louvre Abu Dhabi, and Nasri Atallah, editor-in-chief of The National’s Luxury Magazine.

Now, BoF shares condensed insights from the panel.

Integrating Local Cultures and Creativity

CS: Vacheron Constantin […] started to export its watches outside of Switzerland in the early 19th century. By meeting our clients overseas in other countries, we have nurtured our creativity in line with other cultures, finding ways to reinvent our watchmaking art for our clients, and in return, we have been nurtured by the culture and the arts of foreign crafts. So, the Middle East region has been a really strong inspiration for us.

A year ago, we had a special event in [the UAE] and one piece paid a vibrant tribute to the grand mosque of Abu Dhabi and the arabesque art through hand-engraved work. This is one example of how we take into consideration all the beauty around the world and the beauty which comes from this region.

AAS: It’s about the endorsement, the interest in the region, in the artists that are creating things and giving them a platform as well. So this is not just a relationship that is based on a watch — it extends much further than that.

It’s important to consider regionally what our story is together, as well as celebrating the craftsmanship of the country itself. Of course, there’s the respect of the culture and the integration and that aspect as well, but it’s also about finding the commonality.

In the UAE, people have a sophisticated understanding of the luxury market […] and there has always been that fascination with craftsmanship, with gold and perfumes. [There is a desire for] exclusivity in that one piece and the understanding that this is something that is of artistic value in the long-run, and that this is not something that will just stop being valuable, it will gain value with the years.

NA: In this sophisticated place where people recognise when they are being pandered to or spoken down to, [they can sense] when it’s sincere. So in terms of how [to] appeal to people in this region, it’s important to note that every Emirate [in the UAE] is a different place and every city is a different place. There is a very specific clientele here, which is also important to distinguish when you’re speaking to different audiences.

This is a real market, this is a mature market, with some of our most educated clients.

—  Nasri Atallah, editor-in-chief of The National’s Luxury Magazine

Be mindful of who you’re talking to and how you’re talking to them. [Be] respectful and [do] not parachute ideas from anywhere else, even though there are things that do align, like certain values. [It’s about] making sure that what you are doing locally is coming from here, and not just being copy and pasted from somewhere else. That’s the way to really show that authenticity.

Innovating Heritage for the Modern World

CS: We are surrounded by an evolution of techniques and technologies that are mind-blowing, but on the other hand, the essence of our watchmaking art lies in authenticity, tradition, in handmade craft. So for example, all our movements, which are made in-house, are hand-finished, which is [an increasingly] rare [practice]. Obviously, we have to evolve with our time, but it’s about a combination of tradition and innovation, since heritage can really nurture creativity.

Vacheron Constantin was a pioneer in creating a capsule collection called Les Collectioneurs, in which we are buying back vintage Vacheron Constantin watches on the second-hand market and restoring them. We offer them to clients across the world with a two-years guarantee and a blockchain certificate […] — an example of how we stretch heritage to the modern world.

NA: The [consumer] here is discerning and demanding when it comes to their attention being captured, so that means brands have no option but to innovate — whether that’s on the product itself or on the experience and the activation, or the way that that product is being presented to you.

I think it’s flattering that “The Quest” is starting here, because that’s also a nod to that demanding audience that exists here. [The feeling is,] if we start here, and it’s good enough for [customers here], it’s good enough for the rest of the world — that’s how I see it. And I think a lot more people are looking to the UAE in that way, no longer as a secondary market.

Engaging Younger Consumers and Collectors

CS: I think the young generations are very much attached to authenticity. […] They are interested in the makers, in people who are doing things with their hands — possibly a reaction against what we have seen in the last decades. […] I think that’s really why younger generations love vintage, because once again they find in vintage watches or vintage cars, for example, this notion that a maker made this with their hands, and that contributes to a higher value as well.

AAS: You also can’t talk about watches without talking about time. When you’re creating, or when you are forming a relationship, […] there’s this need to slow things down. This is my philosophy — being from an institution like the [Louvre Abu Dhabi] museum where it’s about the object, it’s about taking your time to have an experience rather than a fast few seconds. […] What’s really important is to engage with the youth on things where they require time to really reflect.

It’s about the endorsement, the interest in the region, in the artists that are creating things and giving them a platform as well.

—  Alia Al Shamsi, author, artist and head of cultural programmes at the Louvre Abu Dhabi

NA: This is a real market, this is a mature market, with some of our most educated clients. I think a lot of people in this region inherit the love of a brand like Vacheron Constantin from their parents and then they put their own layer on top of it.

The average person buying their first Vacheron [Constantin watch] here [is] something like 20-30, while in Europe, that person is 50-60. So we’re already talking to a very different person who is coming into this universe. For me, from an editorial perspective, I’m also talking to a very different person, who has different interests and is in a different part of their life, even though they’re engaging with the same pieces and the same craftsmanship. There is also a wider array in terms of the customer base here, whether it’s where they’re coming from internationally, or their age group, or their other consumption habits.

Fostering the Next Generation of Craftspeople

NA: I think there is still a lot of opportunity for deeper engagement [with artisans in the region] — there’s so much talent here. […] Often we work with people who are already established — but it’s also interesting to work with people who are still studying, or still learning, or have no formal training, or are maybe from the world of crafts and you bring them into another world, to have a multidisciplinary approach.

The UAE, since its inception, has been a country of visionary leadership, and that visionary leadership is infectious. So as soon as you get here, you have to be visionary. You can’t be here if you’re not thinking to the future while keeping the strong links in the past, but there is an automatic shift in your body in terms of “I’m here to achieve, otherwise why am I here?” Different people express it in different ways, whether it’s the craft or art business and I think that’s something that’s valuable and is in the realm of almost invisible mentorship.

CS: Artists and artisans are struggling to find apprentices or people to perpetuate their crafts. At the end of the 1980s, most of the decorative arts associated with watchmaking, like enamelling and engraving, almost disappeared. We have thus become mentors of these savoir-faire at Vacheron Constantin, in order to preserve them.

At the end of the day, this is our responsibility as a maison, as an organisation, as an institution: to train, to teach and to make sure that these crafts are preserved and transmitted. For this reason, Vacheron Constantin houses its own workshop for decorative crafts, called the Métier d’Arts workshop, in which artisans are given the opportunity to share their savoir-faire with younger generations.

It’s not just a matter of relying on our heritage, but also a matter of asking [these artisans] to express themselves as young people in the world today.

This is a sponsored feature paid for by Vacheron Constantin as part of a BoF partnership.