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Saudi Arabia’s businesses are back to adding jobs; UAE receives highest sovereign rating in the region
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Market News
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Saudi Arabia’s businesses are back to adding jobs
According to the published report, Saudi Arabia’s employment numbers have made a welcome return to growth for the first time since January, giving enough confidence that the economy will close out the year on a relative high. After a harrowing first- half brought about by the Covid- 19 spread, businesses can take a lot of heart from the modest turnaround. “A third successive (monthly) rise in the Saudi Arabia PMI (Purchasing Managers’ Index) pointed to an economy getting back on its feet in November,” said David Owen, Economist at IHS Markit, the agency that tracks private sector spending and other indicators. “Supported by output and new business growth reaching ten-month highs, the data suggests a strong end to the year for the non- oil private sector.” |
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UAE receives highest sovereign rating in the region
The UAE government received an Aa2 rating in creditworthiness - which is the highest sovereign rating in the region - with a stable outlook for the national economy by the international rating agency, Moody’s. “Shaikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Minister of Finance, confirmed that this new classification reflects the strength and resilience of the country’s economy and its ability to overcome various challenges — especially in light of the exceptional circumstances that the world is witnessing due to the Covid- 19 pandemic. |
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Company News
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Noura Al Kaabi and Essa Kazim Guests of Honour at Sotheby’s Dubai's Private Unveiling of Rare Masterpieces by Botticelli & Rembrandt
Sotheby’s Dubai was delighted to host Her Excellency Noura Al Kaabi, the UAE’s Minister of Culture and Youth, and His Excellency Essa Kazim, Governor of Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) as their Guests of Honour at their private view of masterpieces by Botticelli and Rembrandt. They unveiled the paintings alongside Sotheby’s Chairman for the Middle East, Edward Gibbs, Head of Sotheby’s Dubai, Katia Nounou, and Sotheby’s Worldwide Co-Chairman of Old Master Paintings and Drawings, George Gordon. The two works will be offered at auction in New York in January 2021 with a combined estimate in excess of $100 million and rank as the highest value paintings ever to be brought to the Middle East by an auction house. |
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Audemars Piguet presents the first episode of its inspiring music series 180
Audemars Piguet has announced the first episode of its inspiring music series 180. Composed of five episodes, each captured by a different film director, this miniseries retraces the unconventional challenge Audemars Piguet set to selected rising music artists. Their mission: go beyond their comfort zone and create an original collaborative soundtrack blending different creative universes. These encounters, which will be diffused from November 2020 to March 2021 on the brand’s social networks and website, align with Audemars Piguet’s relentless quest to push talents further to create the extra-ordinary and touch people’s heart. A song, a performance or a hand-finished mechanical watch not only convey emotions, they reflect the creative process, passion and talent of the numerous individuals who worked together. |
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Roger Dubuis announces New World Premiere Exclusively Online
Roger Dubuis announced the debut in the world of e-commerce and announced an online exclusivity. The Excalibur Aventador S is limited to only 8 pieces and features a range of easily identifiable design elements drawn from its motorised alter ego. Not to mention that the RD103SQ is housed in a Ceramic Composite Fiber (CCF), twenty per cent lighter than carbon, a world premiere. |
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Boucheron shares Holiday Emotions
The holiday season has finally arrived. At this occasion, the faces of Boucheron feminity are sharing with freshness and sincerity their emotions and memories linked to this special time of year. Nour Arida brings new inspiration to the profession of Digital Influencer with her hallmark humility. Nour has strong family values so for her the holidays are all about sharing and love. From the Serpent Bohème collection, she has chosen the Serpent Bohème watch for her mother and a bracelet, from the same collection, that she will later pass on to her daughter. |
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Rivoli Group announces the final winners of the OMEGA Nations Golf Tour 2020
Rivoli Group hosted the final tournament of the OMEGA Nations Golf Tour 2020 on December 9th at the Dubai Hills Golf Club. The tournament was the last in a series of 4 competing golf events, which took place over the course of 2020 with the first tournament on March 4th earlier this year. Adult amateur golfers were encouraged to sign up as a team with a country of their choice in the 2 ball tournament using the Net Stableford aggregate format of play. The final winners of the OMEGA Nations Golf Tour of 2020 were Stamen Stantchev and Smbat Pogosyan representing the Bulgaria team with 78 points, followed by Anand Lakhiani from India and David Minchin from England in second place with 70 points. Finishing in third place were Phil Jones from England and Barry Pavic from Belgium who scored 69 points. |
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Backes & Strauss is now available at Harrods
Backes & Strauss has announced that from December, the brand is available at Harrods, the iconic department store located in the heart of Knightsbridge. Both Backes & Strauss and Harrods are leading ambassadors of British luxury. Backes & Strauss has specially curated an exceptional collection of rarest and unique timepieces which will be on display in the Harrods Fine Jewellery Room. Backes & Strauss is the world’s oldest diamond company founded in 1789. Today, as part of the Franck Muller group, it creates luxurious, bejewelled timepieces, which are inspired by the elegance of 19th Century London. |
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Blancpain supports an extraordinary mission undertaken by Laurent Ballesta and Andromède Océanologie
Founding partner of the Gombessa expeditions, Blancpain is supporting a new mission by underwater biologist and photographer Laurent Ballesta. This project, conducted in the Mediterranean, aims to study the impact on marine vertebrate and invertebrate populations of the cessation of human activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Financed by part of the proceeds from the sale of BOC III limited edition watches, it follows on from the Gombessa V expedition that took place in July 2019 off the French Mediterranean coast. The current initiative is part of the Gombessa expeditions, of which Blancpain has been a founding partner since 2012; and the aim of which is to promote understanding of hitherto inaccessible and little known deep-sea ecosystems. |
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Product Launch
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A. Lange & Söhne releases SAXONIA OUTSIZE DATE & SAXONIA THIN
A lucid design vocabulary and mechanical finesse characterise the SAXONIA OUTSIZE DATE that is now available with an argenté-coloured dial. The Lange outsize date and subsidiary seconds in a symmetric arrangement underscore the prominent look of a watch that combines technical refinement with formal harmony. While the new SAXONIA THIN is a special white-gold version in a limited 50-watch edition. Its gently shimmering dial in solid silver is coated with black gold flux that contains tiny copper-coloured particles which make the deep black surface sparkle. A shiny black leather strap with a prong buckle in 18-carat white gold accentuates the radiant prominence of the timepiece. |
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Introducing the new Royal Oak Double Balance Wheel Openworked in Black Ceramic by Audemars Piguet
Audemars Piguet has unveiled a new version of its Royal Oak Double Balance Wheel Openworked combining an elegant black ceramic case with a dial design full of subtle contrasts. The black ceramic case provides an elegant setting for the newly re-designed blackened openworked dial and the pink gold-toned double balance wheel mechanism, visible on both sides of the watch. This patented innovation, released by Audemars Piguet in 2016, improves the watch’s precision and stability. By incorporating two balance wheels and two hairsprings assembled on the same axis, the system oscillates in perfect synchrony. This self-regulating organ is echoed by the pink gold applied hour-markers and luminescent hands, as well as by the 22-carat pink gold oscillating weight visible on the caseback side. The watch’s titanium caseback also presents a new engraving: “Royal Oak Double Balancier,” in honour of the complex mechanism ticking within. |
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Richard Mille launches RM 65-01 Automatic Split Seconds Chronograph
A highly complex sports timepiece, a masterpiece of technical prowess designed for everyday use and for any situation, such is the latest execution of Richard Mille’s tireless quest for innovation, the new RM 65-01. This chronograph honed for the 21st century has a high frequency balance with variable inertia—5 Hz, or 36,000 vibrations per hour—developed for superior timekeeping accuracy over an extended period and precise stopwatch calculations to 1/10th of a second. It is every bit a genuine racing machine with a split-second hand to calculate intermediate times, a first for Richard Mille on an automatic movement. Developed in partnership with Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier, the integrated movement boasts unfailing consistency with its 6-column wheel architecture and vertical coupling. |
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Zenith presents its DEFY 21 Dubai Mall Edition
Over the years, the emirate of Dubai has become a global hub for fine watchmaking. Steeped in tradition yet unrelentingly reaching towards the future, Dubai and Zenith are a perfect match. Located in Dubai Mall, the booming emirate’s largest and most luxurious shopping destination, the Zenith boutique in Dubai hosts the entire Zenith collection in a prime location. And as of November, the Dubai Mall boutique becomes the first stop in a traveling pop-up exhibition that brings together a selection of current Haute Horlogerie pieces as well as a selection of rare and sought-after pieces from the past decade, some of which have never been presented in Dubai until now. Coinciding with this special exhibition, the Zenith Dubai Mall boutique is launching its own exclusive DEFY El Primero 21 edition. |
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Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons and Bovet 1822 unveils a UAE limited edition
The timepiece has been designed exclusively for Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons to commemorate its 70th anniversary. Limited to 50 timepieces only, it comprises an in-house movement, 7-day power reserve and open case back with sapphire cristal. The distinctive dial features blackened Côtes de Genève and yellow luminova along with Arabic and Hindi numerals, inspired by the Middle Eastern region. It also includes a subtle inscription ‘Curators of Time Since 1950’, the official tagline of Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons. The inclusion of Arabic and Hindi numerals was specifically chosen for this model and has been dubbed ‘MAMS or Make All Moments Special’, an ode to Mohammed Abdulmagied Seddiqi who shares the same initials.
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Introducing ArtyA Special Abu Dhabi Formula 1 Circuit
To answer a bespoke order for the 50th anniversary of Abu Dhabi city, ArtyA has launched its new Timepiece Special - the Yas Marina Circuit limited edition. This watch is a tribute to the city of Abu Dhabi and its famous Formula 1 circuit, Yas Marina. Doing this timepiece was quite a challenge and our savoir-faire in skeletonizing movements was really essential. The shape of the movement plate is fully skeletonized in the form of the circuit and is underlined with lacquer in the color of the legendary turquoise-colored Yas Marina racetrack. Super-LumiNova was gently added by hand, revealing the 21 curves of the circuit at night. We put the balance wheel at 6 o'clock to enhance the power of this elegant tonneau-shaped watch, and the exposed winding barrel symbolizes the rising sun in Abu Dhabi. |
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The Highlife Perpetual Calendar Manufacture in 18-carat rose gold by Frederique Constant
With this rare timepiece, Frederique Constant hails the return of its Highlife collection. Created in 1999, it is making its comeback in 2020, having been entirely overhauled. Its distinctive redesigned case houses a dial decorated with a globe motif. Symbolising the Earth, the perfection of the circle, it is also the icon of a new generation that shares the same ideal for saving the planet, sustainable and sensible living. Now available with a diameter of 41 mm, the watch also features an integrated strap. The lack of horns allows for greater flexibility and helps it sit naturally on the wrist. The design necessitates perfect continuity between the lines of the case and the strap, a smooth transition and natural – almost imperceptible – fluidity. |
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Pierre DeRoche launches TNT Royal Retro 43 Diablo
The lightness of the TNT Royal Retro 43 Diablo is lent gravitas by its powerful lines. Its exclusive complication is housed in a 43 mm steel and titanium case that affirms its technicality. The bezel is made from itr2, a hypoallergenic composite based on carbon nanoparticles that is six times lighter than steel and four times lighter than titanium. The DLC-coated black bridges contrast with the complication’s 5N gilded gear train and racks and the red hands. Lastly, the textured leather strap offering the alternative between the symbolically devilish colours of red or black brings the final smouldering touch to this exceptional watch issued in a limited edition of 101 pieces. |
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Tiffany & Co. Elsa Peretti® Bone Cuff stars in Wonder Woman 1984
Wonder Woman 1984 is in theaters beginning December 16 and features Gal Gadot reprising her iconic role as Wonder Woman and alter ego Diana Prince. In the Patty Jenkins directed film, Gadot, as Prince, is wardrobed in the legendary Tiffany & Co. Elsa Peretti® Bone cuff in 18k yellow gold, a nod to Wonder Woman’s indestructible cuffs and a tribute to Prince’s real self—a hero. The groundbreaking Elsa Peretti® design was introduced 50 years ago and perfectly contours to the wrist, showcasing the ergonomic sensuality that informs all of Peretti’s Tiffany & Co. designs. Like Gadot’s Diana Prince character, the cuff represents both strength and grace, while serving as an icon that is eternally modern and sophisticated. |
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Introducing Fawaz Gruosi new collection
Fawaz Gruosi, the dramatically new collection and boutique brand by the master of modern glamour is the culmination of a long, impassioned and impulsive quest for a dynamic, contemporary expression for High Jewellery. These spectacular jewels show the unmistakable hand of Fawaz Gruosi – audacious, barrier-breaking explorations of materials and craftsmanship - they also mark a turning-point in the designer’s life and style, opening a new chapter, revealing a more intense creativity, sensibility and refined sophistication. With this highly individualistic venture, Fawaz Gruosi hopes to shape a 21st century jewellery experience to restore the emotion that turns a jewellery acquisition into an occasion. |
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Montegrappa presents two-volume MONOPOLY Limited Edition
Dominate the game like never before with the two-volume MONOPOLY L.E. Created for the 85th anniversary of the world’s favourite board game, each dazzling design uses timeless art-deco style to celebrate MONOPOLY’s rich visual and cultural legacy. Precious metals, gems and Italian bravado make MR. MONOPOLY and 85TH ANNIVERSARY the pens of true players. Available in options of 0.925 silver and 18K gold, each handcrafted piece is the centrepiece of a deluxe travel gameboard with sterling-silver tokens. Get ready to pass GO in style.
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