Dubai: For the region’s aficionados of fine timepieces, the definitive guidebook to keep track of trends is within easy reach.
The Middle East edition of ‘WatchTime’, America’s widely read magazine for luxury watch collectors, has now hit the stands. Published by Gulf News Magazines, WatchTime Middle East will be a quarterly and feature a mix of the best of the US edition and locally sourced content,
The content will rotate around a mix of interviews with collectors, horological news, watch tests and manufacturer profiles. The magazine will have a print run of 8,000 copies to start with and will be distributed across the Gulf.
“Swiss watch imports to the UAE have risen by 36 per cent in the last two years and we’re confident that WatchTime, already a highly respected publication in the industry, will quickly become a must-read for watch enthusiasts and collectors in the region,” said James Hewes, Gulf News Magazines’ publishing director.
Ebner Publishing International (EBI), the parent company of WatchTime, controls one of the world’s largest family of watch magazines with a combined monthly audience of more than one million. Apart from the US, WatchTime and its sister magazines are available in South America, Europe, India, Japan, Korea and China.
“We are very happy to welcome Gulf News Magazines as a great business partner,” said Gerrit Klein, CEO of EPI. “Ebner Publishing has been a family-owned business with a global focus for 200 years and Gulf News is a respected authority with many years of experience in the Middle East — an ideal combination. We are sure that WatchTime Middle East will grow fast and achieve the same reputation among watch fans and the watch industry as WatchTime USA has in the 15 years since its launch.”
