"A sports car for the wrist." That is the very modern and undeniably commercial notion of mechanical wristwatches. Think about it: an engine - the movement - suspended within a purpose-built chassis - the case - engineered and tuned to within incredibly narrow tolerances for maximum performance, allowing one to express one's status, distinguished taste and - at a stretch - love of fine engineering. The fact that even the most basic automatic watches on the market have see-through case backs is down to the same reason Ferrari's V8s and Lamorghini's V10s are proudly visible just behind the cockpit.
The watch industry has long recognised the link between performance cars and mechanical watches and has tried to capitalise on it in some form or another. This continues today from the top of the industry to the bottom; take, for example, these two very similar accounts from two very dissimilar individuals at the top of the watch game. The first is from Fabrice Deschanel, head of Audemars Piguet, on his chat with Richard Mille from the company's Renaud & Papi horological think-tank based in the Swiss Jura mountains.
"When Richard Mille first approached me with his idea for a new watch brand, he showed me two photographs: one of an old Ferrari engine and one of a new Formula One Renault engine," says Deschanel. " 'In horology,' he told me, 'there has been no evolution like this for 30 years. I want my watch to be the Renault engine'. He wanted 30 years of evolution in one watch."
The second is from Christoph Behling, a Frenchman designing 95 per cent of TAG Heuer's output from his studio in London's Notting Hill.
"At the beginning of the Monaco V4's development there were two visuals I put on the wall: the engine of a Ferrari from 1967 and the engine of a Ferrari from 2003. And I said why is it that the two engines are so beautiful? One had the modern beauty of mechanical engineering, the other one is sentimental. The watch is the engine still unchanged in 40 years - I challenged TAG Heuer and asked shouldn't we find today our own aesthetic, our own beauty?"
Despite their polar-opposite remits - one highly complicated "haute horlogerie", the other mainstream sports watches - they've both had acknowledge the importance of the car industry and its impact on the consumer appeal of watches.
Behling eventually came up with a near-impossible V-configuration movement, driven by rubber "timing belts" as thin as a human hair. Pure collector territory. For Richard Mille, on the other hand, Deschanel and his team came up with a brand in its entirety, a novel, new concept that continues to revolutionise modern watchmaking as we know it since the RM001 Tourbillon burst onto the scene in 2000. "A racing machine for the wrist" it was subtitled. Although the mechanic principles were still the same, much as an F1 engine still works on the same basis as that in your family car, a new, zero-compromise, ultra-light approach to material science, rendered in a stripped-down, high-tech aesthetic that shook up the traditional, stuffy watchmaking world was born.
The new, young money lapped it up. And you can guarantee every other wrist in the F1 paddocks - Felipe Massa's included - has one of Mille's chunky spaceframe devices strapped on. And if not a Mille, a watch that's trying its best to look like it.
In fact, it's the paddocks and pits where the motor industry's mutual love affair with watches began, more than 40 years ago. Rolex devotees will harp on about Paul Newman's tenuous Daytona chronograph connection, but everyone knows it was TAG Heuer which did the legwork. It all started properly with the classic, round Carrera - a watch that speaks vividly of Jack Heuer's days in the pitlanes, where, sleeves rolled up, oil stains, the lot, the Heuer honorary president was setting up super-accurate timing equipment for all manner of formulae. On the side, he was kitting out gentlemen racers from Indianapolis to Silverstone. A lifelong fan of motorsport, Heuer knew what was needed: a wide-open, easy-to-read dial and a shock-resistant case rugged enough to withstand a primitive road surface and unforgiving chassis. It was 1964 when he launched the result, a mechanical, manual-wound chronograph called Carrera, named after the notorious Carrera Pan Americana: a five-day, 3,380km race across Mexico. Meaning "competition of the highest order", the Carrera remains synonymous with excitement, danger and heroism - and for all the same reasons was also adopted by Porsche as the nickname for its 911.
Its clean functionality combined with Heuer's reputation for precision chronographs made the Carrera hugely popular among motorsport royalty. Wearers included legends such as Jacky Ickx, Niki Lauda, Mario Andretti, Gilles Villeneuve, Jo Siffert, Emerson Fittipaldi and John Surtees. This year's Heritage collection is a grainy Kodachrome throwback to the Carrera's high-octane heyday - a nice balance to the wrist candy sported now by Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton (TAG, the holding company that bought Heuer in the 1980s, is a major shareholder of McLaren).
It was a certain Michael Delaney who cemented Heuer's petrolhead credentials. The fictional endurance driver perpetrates perhaps the most famous starring role of any watch in cinema, despite the relative obscurity of the film itself. Played by Steve McQueen, his Heuer Monaco chronograph in Le Mans (1971) looks as cool as you'd expect from Hollywood's grittiest playboy - its cobalt-blue, square dial contrasting with his white race suit to vivid effect.
Unfortunately, the slew of car/watch tie-ups that have arisen since "proper watches" started to regain popularity in the 1990s has numbed anyone with half a brain for a marketing ploy. And made us unnecessarily cynical of what occasionally amounts to a straightforward, good-old sponsorship.
It started promisingly enough, though. Girard-Perregaux's Pour Ferrari collaboration was the first tie-up to produce watches that properly reflected the quality of the cars in question, and actively drew from the partner's brand values. Not only were the watches up to Maranello's standards, the origins of the partnership had undeniable petrolhead pedigree. G-P's genial Italian boss, Gino Macaluso, was a champion rally driver for Fiat in the early 1970s and was already good friends with Luca di Montezemolo when he approached the Ferrari CEO in 1993. As is still the case with the majority of Ferrari's unscrupulous, over-licensed merchandising, the watches at the time were ubiquitous and cheap (Longines' early eighties attempts aside). Macaluso wanted to change that - his concept was not to be a meretricious exercise in brand extension, limited to slapping a prancing horse on the dial; his customers would never be fooled. In his words, "this has to be the [Ferrari] 456 of watches".
The first Pour Ferrari watch in 1994 was an exquisite yellow-gold chronograph with split-seconds timing, a hugely complicated bit of kit, and a bold statement of intent. It was also limited to 499 pieces, cheekily echoing Enzo Ferrari's philosophy of producing just one less than the needs of the market.
One of Switzerland's most venerable "maisons", Girard-Perregaux is best-known for its delicate hand-craftsmanship and traditional looks, which may chime with the cars of Enzo's day, but it wasn't entirely reflective of Ferrari's modern, high-tech sports cars. Macaluso recognised this, though, and duly sent his watchmakers to the Fiorano test circuit to spend some time with Jean Todt's Formula One boffins. The result? A car-watch milestone: the incorporation of special aluminium alloys (renamed GP Al, of course) and still-relatively rare carbon fibre into the cases and dials of the watches. Without this unique "fusion" approach, Hublot as we know it wouldn't even be in existence, let alone be boasting its status as the new official Ferrari watch partner. Let's see if it does better than Panerai, which took over from G-P in 2005 to mixed reviews.
Since G-P Pour Ferrari, we've had Chopard and the Mille Miglia (again, given credence by its CEO's regular participation behind the wheel), Breitling for Bentley (both winged-B logo's, but little else in common) and Parmigiani and Bugatti - a car-llaboration that has yielded three extraordinary watches, and a rare case of the watch's price tag almost encroaching that of the car. In fact, the first Parmigiani Bugatti watch, the Type 370, was in gestation as long as its automotive muse, the Veyron. In celebration of the engine, its movement was flipped perpendicularly, "exploded" along a sapphire crystal tube that sat across your wrist, the dial clearly readable without having to release your grip on the steering wheel.
Aston Martin, meanwhile, continue to do no wrong. Its partnership with Jaeger-LeCoultre wasn't particularly obvious at first, but within two years of nice-enough, appropriately silver-grey watches, the AMVOX2 was unleashed. This was a watch that, for the very first time, directly and vividly reflected your interaction with the car: a chronograph activated by pressing the glass, just as you press the Start button. Two years after that, the same watch was released, only this time a key fob was incorporated into the mechanics; simply open and close your DBS by tapping at eight or four o'clock. Clever, but unreliable - and prohibitively expensive, if you count the cost of the car (Dh906,000) on top of the watch (Dh170,000).
The AMVOX2 watches, however, highlight the one major failing of the watch-carllaboration genre: the irreversibly one-way direction of influence. Let's be honest, no matter how esteemed the watch brand, or how chummy the CEOs are, the car brand will always be the crutch in the relationship. Plus, it's easy to make a bezel look like a brake disc and even easier to give a strap a tyre tread. Try turning a bonnet into a clock face, on the other hand, and you'll quickly come unstuck.
There's one notable exception, however, and it's Girard-Perregaux again. In perhaps the only example of watch design influencing car design, beyond the odd decal or dashboard clock, the sunken lugs of G-P's rectangular 375 MM chronograph of 2004 inspired di Montezemolo to specify the distinctive scooped door panels on the four-seater 612 Scaglietti. The fact Macaluso was originally inspired by a photo of the 375 that Roberto Rossellini commissioned for his wife, Ingrid Bergman, is neither here nor there, of course.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
Greatest Royal Rumble results
John Cena pinned Triple H in a singles match
Cedric Alexander retained the WWE Cruiserweight title against Kalisto
Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt win the Raw Tag Team titles against Cesaro and Sheamus
Jeff Hardy retained the United States title against Jinder Mahal
Bludgeon Brothers retain the SmackDown Tag Team titles against the Usos
Seth Rollins retains the Intercontinental title against The Miz, Finn Balor and Samoa Joe
AJ Styles remains WWE World Heavyweight champion after he and Shinsuke Nakamura are both counted out
The Undertaker beats Rusev in a casket match
Brock Lesnar retains the WWE Universal title against Roman Reigns in a steel cage match
Braun Strowman won the 50-man Royal Rumble by eliminating Big Cass last
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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'Morbius'
Director: Daniel Espinosa
Stars: Jared Leto, Matt Smith, Adria Arjona
Rating: 2/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Ferrari
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Day 3, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance
Moment of the day Just three balls remained in an exhausting day for Sri Lanka’s bowlers when they were afforded some belated cheer. Nuwan Pradeep, unrewarded in 15 overs to that point, let slip a seemingly innocuous delivery down the legside. Babar Azam feathered it behind, and Niroshan Dickwella dived to make a fine catch.
Stat of the day - 2.56 Shan Masood and Sami Aslam are the 16th opening partnership Pakistan have had in Tests in the past five years. That turnover at the top of the order – a new pair every 2.56 Test matches on average – is by far the fastest rate among the leading Test sides. Masood and Aslam put on 114 in their first alliance in Abu Dhabi.
The verdict Even by the normal standards of Test cricket in the UAE, this has been slow going. Pakistan’s run-rate of 2.38 per over is the lowest they have managed in a Test match in this country. With just 14 wickets having fallen in three days so far, it is difficult to see 26 dropping to bring about a result over the next two.
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Hydrogen: Market potential
Hydrogen has an estimated $11 trillion market potential, according to Bank of America Securities and is expected to generate $2.5tn in direct revenues and $11tn of indirect infrastructure by 2050 as its production increases six-fold.
"We believe we are reaching the point of harnessing the element that comprises 90 per cent of the universe, effectively and economically,” the bank said in a recent report.
Falling costs of renewable energy and electrolysers used in green hydrogen production is one of the main catalysts for the increasingly bullish sentiment over the element.
The cost of electrolysers used in green hydrogen production has halved over the last five years and will fall to 60 to 90 per cent by the end of the decade, acceding to Haim Israel, equity strategist at Merrill Lynch. A global focus on decarbonisation and sustainability is also a big driver in its development.
World Test Championship table
1 India 71 per cent
2 New Zealand 70 per cent
3 Australia 69.2 per cent
4 England 64.1 per cent
5 Pakistan 43.3 per cent
6 West Indies 33.3 per cent
7 South Africa 30 per cent
8 Sri Lanka 16.7 per cent
9 Bangladesh 0
