Interview: The Woman Behind The Middle East’s Largest Watch Retailer

This year, Hind Seddiqi brought the Horology Forum to Hong Kong. Less a city than a delirium, Hong Kong is an unapologetically vertical onslaught of steel, glass, and every fevered neon light imaginable. Stacked with frenetic, towering ambition – the city is both excruciatingly modern and overtly traditional. It’s caught in a perfect medium between old and new. 

Hong Kong is for watch lovers. Rare timepieces and collector meet-ups abound, complemented by a wealth of watch boutiques and Rolex retailers that line the streets of Central Hong Kong. It’s absolutely brimming with watch enthusiasts who are as passionate about obscure ’90s Gerald Genta as they are about Patek grand comps. 

The bustling (contrary to post-pandemic belief) city served as the perfect backdrop for the Seddiqi family to host this year’s Horology Forum, a biennial event put on in conjunction with Dubai Watch Week. It’s a smaller educational event dedicated to hardcore watch enthusiasts and industry insiders. This year saw panels littered with familiar industry faces such as founder of Revolution Wei Koh, Heritage Director of TAG Heuer Nicholas Biebuyck, Ming Thein, co-founder of Ming watches, and New York-based watch dealer and founder of Graal, Zoe Abelson. The idea is for the Horology Forum to function as a sort of intellectual watch hub for networking and idea exchanging within the community.

The Seddiqi family is nothing short of a big deal in the watch space. A prominent retailer in the Middle East, the family has been working in watches since its founder, Ahmed Seddiqi, started selling watches from a small shop in Bur Dubai’s souk back in the 1940s. Hind Seddiqi, who serves as Chief Marketing & Communications Officer at Seddiqi Holding, is also the Director General of Dubai Watch Week and has been instrumental in steering the company’s marketing and communications strategies across all business units to drive success in a fast-evolving watch market. 

Hind Seddiqi is something of a marketing mogul. Effortlessly glamorous and extremely knowledgeable, it’s Ms Seddiqi who understands the importance of keeping up to speed with the watch community, and most importantly, integrating the Middle Eastern watch market into other global markets. This whole traveling forum was indeed her brainchild.

Ms. Seddiqi isn’t one to clamor for the spotlight – in fact, she is something of a watch-world enigma. She spent her week in Hong Kong quietly hosting her media and collector cohort. Dressed in double denim and a Patek ref. 5180/1G, I caught up with her on the last day of the forum for a candid conversation about the Middle East’s role in the watch landscape and how she came in to modernize the family’s approach to communicating about their business empire.

Malaika Crawford: Why choose Hong Kong to host HF10?

Hind Seddiqi: We looked at Asia in general before landing on Hong Kong. Obviously, we needed to go somewhere where there is a watch connecting culture. And Hong Kong’s always been that. Like they mentioned in the panel discussion yesterday, everybody wears a nice watch here, even your Uber driver. The culture and appreciation is huge. We’ve seen a lot of watch clubs coming out of HK, young watch collectors, enthusiasts, and even artisans. We were really curious about Asian watchmakers. And we have friends here. Christie’s, Wristcheck, Carson Chang. All of these people helped support our setup. 

MC: We don’t see many women who have big executive, forward-facing positions in this industry. Notably, even less so from your part of the world. How do you feel about that? Did you always set out to work in the family business?

HS: I joined the family business by coincidence. I studied communication with a focus in PR. I’m a PR girl! I was working at the agency that was managing my family’s business account, but I wasn’t involved in the account and I was hearing them struggle. They weren’t being fed the right information; there was a gap within the business itself. And so I went to my dad, and I said, listen, we need to fix this. I made some suggestions, and he told me to come back next week. I went in, and they asked for my suggestions. I’m like, hire someone who has a PR or marketing background so that they can run it. They replied, “No, we need you to come, but it’s not a job offer. Come and show us what you mean and what you can do. And then, you know, we will see.” So I had to quit my job.

MC: Quit your job and prove your worth!

HS: Yeah, that’s how I started in the business back in 2006. I established a department which never existed.

MC: Was there a disconnect in terms of thinking about the future? What did you feel was missing?

HS: The storytelling part was not there. It was just press releases. Whatever the brand sent, it was all about the brand, brand, brand. Nothing about Seddiqi as a retailer and how we operate. My cousin Hammed was there two years before me; he was the only one there working with the second generation, my father, and my uncles. Hammed and I started doing factory tours for clients, taking them to the independents in Switzerland and introducing them to new things. I’d hear the client saying, “Who is this watchmaker I’ve never heard of before?” Or “Why is this movement like this? I wanna see what’s happening inside.” You know, they were more curious. Plus, we were hearing a lot of conversations between brands when we’d meet with them on the struggles they were all having, but there was no communication between them. We can’t solve the industry’s problems, but there are things that need to be spoken about, like the transition of knowledge. They didn’t have enough watchmakers. Watchmakers were dying and taking their knowledge with them, you know. And so that was the theme of the first horology forum: transmission of knowledge.

And that’s how we started. It was a room of 50 seats. I never imagined it being as big as Dubai Watch Week is now. 

MC: So you finally proved yourself and got the job! 

HS: [laughing] Oh yes.

MC: What’s your relationship to watch collecting? I imagine you have quite the collection.

HS: I have appreciation for anything human-made. I love anything that’s hand-made. But then, when it comes to choosing something for myself, I like to choose things that not everybody wants or that not everybody is wearing. I don’t own a Nautilus. I love the watch, but next for me is an MB&F. I’m a spokesperson – if people see what I’m wearing, they ask me about it. I feel like it’s very important, especially for women. Don’t come and tell me I want this watch because X person is wearing it. Is it you? Is it something you need? How many yellow-gold watches do you have? Maybe it’s time to buy a white gold watch? I’m not into just following the trends.

MC: So, women in the Middle East follow trends closely? 

HS: Oh, definitely. You know, the Asian influencers have a big influence on women in the Middle East. Even if they don’t understand the languages of their accounts, they follow them because of their style. Women in the Middle East learned about Richard Mille through Asian women collectors and influencers. They are similar to the Asian women in terms of fashion and trends – they both have strong purchasing power. 

MC: Are the women doing their own thing, or do they belong to watch clubs?

HS: The true collectors want to stay private. Men and women. They want to remain behind closed doors. They’re the ones who are on the phone bidding with the auction houses, you know. But women don’t really go to watch clubs. Maybe they would if there was a watch club designed just for them. But I don’t think we have the team spirit that men have. 

MC: Do you own a Richard Mille?

HS: I bought my first in 2015, but I haven’t worn it in a long time – too trendy [laughs]!

MC: I mean you are wearing a pretty crazy watch.

HS: Yes, it’s still a Patek, but it’s not a Nautilus. I love the bracelet and the open case and you can’t tell it’s a Patek unless you know. 

MC: Do you think it was a singular experience for you being a woman and doing the job that you are doing? 

HS: I was the only woman in most rooms when we used to go to exhibitions, besides the marketing person, in the Middle East, but also in Geneva. But in the manufacturer, you see women everywhere. I see more women watchmakers. And I hope they can grow and climb the ladder. You know? Perhaps the next phase would be product development. I know there’s potential for change. 

MC: Your father must be proud of what you’ve done for the company.

HS: My dad approved the concept for the first edition of Dubai Watch Week. But just before the event the nerves hit. He panicked – “What if, what if no one shows up? What if the international press write poorly about it?” At the time it was a challenge getting the international press to attend, as they didn’t quite understand the point of coming to Dubai. But last year we had over 60 participating brands, and next year we are moving to an even larger venue.

MC: So you have more brands signing up? Is there a cut-off point for you? A number where things start to feel too big?

HS: We have a waitlist. Often we say “no” to brands who have already participated and make way for new attendees. Next year, we will have 60 brands in the main exhibition hall and 13 in the outdoor area. We really champion the independents. It’s challenging to do things differently, whether it’s in marketing or communications or even the way they present and create their watches. They struggle a lot, and they deserve the attention. They don’t have those big budgets that all the other brands have. So it’s important. And I think the consumer wants to see who’s new and what’s new. And I’m hoping that we can bring a good number of Asian brands next year.

​Hodinkee 

​Read More