Just past the fountain, in the afternoon light that falls across the base of the Burj Khalifa, Dubai Watch Week 2025 has officially begun. In a setting built on dialogue rather than dazzle, this release arrives with the quiet confidence of a piece that knows its place. It does not chase attention. It earns it through detail, proportion, and the story it tells. The materials are considered. The movement is thoughtfully chosen. Before the case is even turned over, there is a sense that this watch was made with care, not haste. It reflects the tone of the week itself: purposeful, refined, and human.
That tone was set clearly in the opening remarks by Hind Abdul Hamied Seddiqi. Standing before an audience of collectors, founders, watchmakers, and friends of the industry, she spoke not about product but about people. She described how the event was built from the ground up over the past six weeks, shaped by feedback and driven by purpose. She reminded the room that Dubai Watch Week is not a stage for spectacle. It is a platform for connection. A place where craftsmanship is honored, voices are heard, and time is given its due.
To kick things off, a little over a year after the Automatique debuted, Biver has returned to the same fundamentals and adjusted the balance. The first models emphasized harmony. These new watches explore contrast.
Quietly Redefined at Dubai Watch Week 2025, Biver expanded its Automatique line with nine refined models, emphasizing craftsmanship, natural materials, and elegant contrasts.
The Automatique Two-Tone takes the most familiar route. It combines an 18K rose gold case with a dial made from PD210, a white gold alloy with a higher palladium content than usual. The result is a softer, warmer white that changes depending on how light hits the brushed surface. With rose gold markers and hands that echo the case, the watch feels unified without being monochromatic. A matching bracelet in solid rose gold is also available.
The combination of white and rose gold has long been part of classical watchmaking. Here, it has been reinterpreted through finish and proportion rather than color contrast. The difference is subtle. That is the point.
Pierre Biver, who oversees design and creative direction, speaks often about the importance of process. He describes these watches as the result of tension, breakthroughs, and time spent with materials. That perspective shows in the final result. Nothing here feels rushed or overly resolved.
Guilloché With a Twist
The Automatique Clous de Paris is the most technical of the new references. It comes in a platinum case and introduces guilloché to the collection for the first time. But this is not a decorative flourish. It is a structural part of the design. A sunray finish radiates from the center of the blue dial, surrounded by a ring of Clous de Paris that gradually tapers inward. This directional pattern reinforces the geometry of the watch and draws the eye toward the hands.
Each dial is produced by Brodbeck Guillochage and Comblémine using two antique rose engines, both over a hundred years old. These machines were restored specifically for the project. The work is slow, precise, and unforgiving. What results is not just a pattern, but a texture that changes the way the dial feels under light.
Mineral and Enamel
Biver also introduced two new stone dial references, continuing the brand’s ongoing relationship with natural materials. One uses Oeil de Fer, the other Obsidian Mahogany, both paired with gold cases that complement the tones within the stone. These dials are entirely free of ornamentation. They rely on the texture of the mineral itself, cut and polished to exacting standards, to carry the design.
There are also two enamel dials being presented for the first time within the Automatique collection. The Grey Enamel and Bordeaux Enamel are produced using the grand feu method by Les Emailleurs de la Cité. Enamel is applied in layers, then fired at high temperatures to create depth and character that paint or lacquer cannot match. These dials are paired with 3N yellow gold cases and fitted with luminous hands and markers. It is a practical detail, but one that adds a small degree of modernity to an otherwise traditional execution.
The Strength of a Clear Voice
With these new releases, the Automatique becomes more than a strong debut. It begins to take shape as a family of watches that can hold a variety of ideas without losing its coherence. There is no new case. No new movement. No need for dramatic reinvention. Instead, Biver has focused on the essentials: contrast, proportion, and texture.
That approach feels well matched to the setting here in Dubai. From its start, Dubai Watch Week has been built around dialogue and exchange, not spectacle. The tone is more personal. There is time to listen. Time to notice the difference between one kind of white gold and another. Time to appreciate a dial that tapers inward by half a millimeter.
As collectors continue to arrive and conversations unfold beneath the Burj Khalifa, the new Automatique models will quietly circulate through the fair. They do not need to compete for attention. They reward the kind of collector who is already paying attention.
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