It happens every week, like clockwork. A prospective customer will enter the Love Luxury boutique in London's upmarket Knightsbridge with a fake watch.
Some customers have been conned themselves, others are trying to hoodwink the shop.
But first they have to get it past Marya Ali – which is where the plan fails.
It is the 25-year-old Emirati’s job to distinguish whether the watch is real or imitation, which she is now so good at she says she can do with just a cursory glance.
Ms Ali, who was born and raised in Abu Dhabi, moved to London in 2020 with her sister, who is studying there.
She had been working in the media industry back home, and seemed destined for a career in architecture and engineering, which she was studying at Abu Dhabi University.
But once in London she found herself with time on her hands, which is when she met a family friend, a luxury watch collector, who introduced Ms Ali to her future career.
“This collector had a private room filled with Patek Philippe watches – more than 500,” she says.
“And most of them were single sealed and double sealed.”
Single sealed watches have never been brought out of the box. The most valuable of all – double sealed watches – remain unopened in the sealed, small box, which is still contained in a larger outer box of original packaging.
“They have stopped doing that now with Patek. You are not allowed to leave it in the box,” says Ms Ali.
“You have to take it out and rip the seal off because the demand in the market for single seal and double seal was [crazy].
“Every time I went into that room, I came out knowing a lot more stuff.”
The collector introduced Ms Ali to a store, which hired her, helping her to hone her craft.
Around a year and a half ago, she joined Love Luxury, which sits behind bulletproof glass on a street lined with other exclusive boutiques in one of London's most exclusive areas.
Its owners, Adam and Emily Abraham, self-professed billionaires, have just opened a second boutique in Dubai.
Over the past few days the new UAE branch in Jumeirah has closed two deals – including the sale of a Patek Nautilus, a rose gold, a 5711/1R for £160,000.
Ms Ali works at the London boutique, where she appraises, buys and sells pre-owned and new luxury watches, some of which sell for upwards of £300,000.
“When I was growing up, my family liked jewellery, watches, handbags. They were into everything," she says.
“They were [into] brands like Chanel and Hermes.
“I have one member of the family who’s really obsessed with bags. She travels all over the world to get them. I wasn’t really into handbags.
“But I was always more drawn towards watches,” she says, as the diamonds on the face of the Rolex Datejust 28mm watch twinkle on her wrist. It is not hers.
Ms Ali does not actually own any luxury watches – yet.
She prefers the utility of an Apple watch for wearing every day. But she is saving up for one to buy as an investment.
“Watches are like a toy for me. We just buy and sell them. I enjoy buying and selling them more than owning them,” says Ms Ali.
“I have one in mind that has been discontinued and I am planning on saving up and getting it.
“It’s a Patek Philippe 5711 Nautilus and they go up in the market from £80,000 to £100,000.
“It’s a very nice piece. It got discontinued. It has a blue dial as well.
“And a blue dial in the watch market is in high demand. It’s green first and then blue,” she says, as she checks her phone which now has numerous unread messages from clients and friends.
“A lot of people, friends and family come to me for watch advice, a lot. Even friends who want to invest £10,000 or £15,000,” says Ms Ali.
“I think watches are a great investment because they are always increasing.
“If you pay the right price it’s always a good investment. But it just has to be the right price you are paying.”
Patek Philippe is the best, followed by Richard Mille and Rolex, she says.
But of course you have to ensure what you are buying is genuine.
That is no problem for Ms Ali. “I know if a watch is fake just by looking at it,” she says.
Nevertheless, she follows a meticulous step by step plan to appraise all watches brought into the boutique.
How she spots fakes
- Check the weight
- Look at the material
- Examine the clasp
- Study the paperwork
“The first thing I would do is to check the weight of the watch. A steel model has a different weight to a rose gold model, to a gold model. That’s the first thing to look at. You can feel the material of the watch,” she says.
“The second thing is the dial. If it is a Rolex, for example, you look at the writing on the dial. With Rolex the newer models have Rolex engraved around the bezel. It has to be engraved and stamped at a specific point.
“Even the clasp you can feel if it is fake or not and the bracelet.
“Sometimes you can get a real watch with a fake link. Some people would fake links to add value to the watch or to resell the link.”
Sometimes, real watches are accompanied by fake paperwork or cards.
“With a watch a card has a lot of value,” says Ms Ali.
“If you lose a card, you lose 20 to 30 per cent of the value of the watch. Some people fake the card if they lose it.
“With watches, you can’t replace the cards. You can get archive papers but you can’t replace the cards.
“People do try it [selling fakes]. I see them probably once every week.
“Some people know. But some people genuinely don’t know they are fake.”
Ms Ali does not advise people to wear any luxury timepiece – either real or imitation – on the streets of central London, which has suffered a spate of watch thefts in recent months.
“To be honest, here in London I don’t advise people to wear any watches. Because the stories we are hearing is just sad. Customers, dealers, traders, everyone, clients. I hear a lot of stories,” she says.
“I have heard a couple of stories of people getting robbed wearing fake watches.”
Having grown up in Abu Dhabi, one of the world’s safest cities, moving to London, which has a significantly higher crime rate, was an adjustment.
“I used to leave my car open, our flat door open. When I came here, I didn’t realise it was a privilege for us to feel safe. I was surprised,” she says.
So, where does she think people should wear their high-end brand watches?
“In Dubai,” says Ms Ali.
The specs: 2018 Volkswagen Teramont
Price, base / as tested Dh137,000 / Dh189,950
Engine 3.6-litre V6
Gearbox Eight-speed automatic
Power 280hp @ 6,200rpm
Torque 360Nm @ 2,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 11.7L / 100km
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 201hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 320Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.7L/100km
Price: Dh133,900
On sale: now
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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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.”
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What's in the deal?
Agreement aims to boost trade by £25.5bn a year in the long run, compared with a total of £42.6bn in 2024
India will slash levies on medical devices, machinery, cosmetics, soft drinks and lamb.
India will also cut automotive tariffs to 10% under a quota from over 100% currently.
Indian employees in the UK will receive three years exemption from social security payments
India expects 99% of exports to benefit from zero duty, raising opportunities for textiles, marine products, footwear and jewellery
The specs
Engine: 5.0-litre supercharged V8
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Power: 575bhp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: Dh554,000
On sale: now
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The lowdown
Badla
Rating: 2.5/5
Produced by: Red Chillies, Azure Entertainment
Director: Sujoy Ghosh
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu, Amrita Singh, Tony Luke
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
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TEACHERS' PAY - WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:
- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools
- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say
- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance
- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs
- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills
- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month
- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues
Sam Smith
Where: du Arena, Abu Dhabi
When: Saturday November 24
Rating: 4/5
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Korean Film Festival 2019 line-up
Innocent Witness, June 26 at 7pm
On Your Wedding Day, June 27 at 7pm
The Great Battle, June 27 at 9pm
The Witch: Part 1. The Subversion, June 28 at 4pm
Romang, June 28 at 6pm
Mal Mo E: The Secret Mission, June 28 at 8pm
Underdog, June 29 at 2pm
Nearby Sky, June 29 at 4pm
A Resistance, June 29 at 6pm
Review: Tomb Raider
Dir: Roar Uthaug
Starring: Alicia Vikander, Dominic West, Daniel Wu, Walter Goggins
two stars
