Watch connoisseur and collector Hassan Al-Akhras began Arab Watch Guide on the behest of his friends to share his knowledge and passion in the field of horology in 2014. Today his Instagram account has over 93.2k followers. He also founded the Arab Watch Club for like-minded collectors and watch enthusiasts. Al-Akhras recently collaborated with Girard-Perregaux to create a special edition timepiece for the club.
Hassan Al-Akhras talks to Anne Kurian about his earliest watch collections, starting a watch collectors’ club and more.
How did you get interested in watches?
This passion has been in me since I was a kid at school. I have always been fascinated by time and timekeeping – at that time it was mostly collecting G-Shocks and Seikos and then it just evolved with time into more sophisticated watches.
What was the first watch that you owned?
I actually cannot remember my first watch, it has been over 25 years if not more. I remember the first watch in my current permanent collection which I started 12 years ago and it was a Breitling Chronomat, which I saved up for from my salary for a few months. It was on my mind for several years while at the university as the Chronomat was the ultimate watch to own at that time.
What led you to create Arab Watch Guide? When did you create the page?
I created Arab Watch Guide three and half years ago and it all happened by coincidence. I was sitting in a cafe with two of my close friends and I was as always sharing my watch readings and thoughts; so they, being in the media industry, suggested that I need to share all that passion and knowledge with a wider audience by opening a blog. The next day, I chose the name, set up my website and started blogging while I learned how to take some OK shots for Instagram. The rest is history. 🙂
How do you choose the content/brands that you feature on Arab Watch Guide?
My content on Arab Watch Guide has to be relevant to my own DNA – I am an athlete, I love sports, I love fashion and being dapper; I like an active life. So all the elements on my page reflect that whether it is in my exploration projects, adventures or challenges that I set for myself in collaboration with the watch brands. All the content has to be organic and true to my identity otherwise I will not accept the project and will not be able to support the brands. Another point is, I only work with brands that I respect and admire – I cannot be convincing to my audience if I don’t believe in the brand myself.
Please tell us about AWG Club. How many members are part of the club and how does one go about applying for a membership? Which countries do your members represent?
Arabwatchclub was established two years ago as a strong collectors’ network in the entire Arab world. We are not geographically restricted to a specific area, but of course our focus is mainly Arabia: all of GCC, MENA and Levant. We are over 100 members as of today spanning across all those regions. We prefer to grow organically based on recommendations from club members to their closer surroundings – it is very important for us to keep the homogeneity and family bond that we create among us. Therefore, we are very careful in integrating new members every time. The first step to apply, usually, is to go on my website and fill up the joining form and then we evaluate it and decide if the profile of the person is a fit to the team.
What are your views on the watch industry? Would you say that the industry is getting back some its sheen after the tough years of 2015-2017?
At the current stage, I still believe the industry is still struggling and many brands are still trying to cope with the situation. What I see differently this year, is that many brands have actually decided to listen to the collectors and adapt to the market needs – which wasn’t the case two years ago.
Have smart watches affected the world of horology?
I don’t think smartwatches have affected the haute horlogerie world at all – it might have even opened some doors for people that never wore a watch to get a feel of it, addicted to it and maybe in the future start looking at mechanical watches. It is always a learning curve no matter what.
Any trends in the world of horology to look forward to in 2018?
It seems 2018 is the year of sport chic watches at a decent price. You can this it from several Richemont group brands that have introduced new lines at a more affordable range than before but keeping the elegant look. Also, it is the rarest of the slimmest watches, automatic or manual, with Piaget and Bulgari leading the way. Finally, it is the year of colours – a lot more variations in colours away from the blues and the black and white dials.
On which platforms can AWG be found?
AWG is present on Instagram as @arabwatchguide and @arabwatch.club, on snapchat as AWG_dubai, and youtube as @arabwatchguide.
