Dubai has become one of the world’s most important meeting points for collectors. Its role as a crossroads is hardly new — the city sits at the intersection of historic trade routes, benefits from a strategic position between East and West, and is anchored by one of the world’s most connected airports. Within this landscape, Ahmed Seddiqi stands as a long-established pillar of the region’s horological landscape and remains a destination for collectors from around the world.

Even after the conclusion of Dubai Watch Week (DWW), the city retains a sense of momentum. Within this landscape, one destination stands out for its significance and ambition: the Ahmed Seddiqi Rolex Certified Pre-Owned boutique.

During DWW, we had the opportunity to visit the boutique and view some of the extraordinary pieces currently available.

Understanding CPO

Rolex launched its CPO programme in late 2022 and it remains one of the most strategically important evolutions in modern watch retail. The secondary market has been growing in importance for both collectors and industry leaders, but until recently it existed largely outside the brand’s official mandate.

Since the launch of the programme nearly three years ago, there are now 148 participating retailers around the world, according to WatchCharts, a data provider that tracks Rolex CPO pricing and volume. As of late 2025, these retailers carry a total inventory of about 9,000 CPO Rolex watches.

That’s either a lot of watches or not that many depending on one’s perspective, but the number is growing. Furthermore, the aims of the CPO programme extend far beyond transactional margins; it’s about protecting the Rolex brand for the long haul.

Protecting the brand

During Dubai Watch Week, Rolex chief executive Jean-Frédéric Dufour spoke candidly about the origins of the CPO programme. The idea began with an observation in the United States: “We noticed that in some points of sale, the number one brand was Rolex, and the number two brand was Rolex second-hand.”

For Rolex executives, this volume raised an alarm. Customers were buying used Rolex watches in vast numbers, yet the brand had no control over the quality, servicing, or experience — no way to guarantee the watch lived up to the name on the dial.

Rolex chief executive Jean-Frédéric Dufour.

Mr Dufour framed the issue bluntly: “Having such a level of business without being sure that there won’t be an issue, because we cannot offer any warranty on the product, it’s a little bit dangerous.” He added, “There’s nothing worse than feeling betrayed when you’ve bought something expensive… that feeling can be destroying.”

In Rolex terms, this is the essence of long-term thinking: invest in building trust today to safeguard the next 50 years. The CPO programme gives Rolex a way to take care of customers who prefer older models, anchoring the secondary market to the same standards that define the brand’s primary sales channels.

Jewels in the desert

Against that backdrop, Seddiqi’s CPO boutique feels like a natural extension of Dubai’s role as a crossroads of global collecting culture. Seddiqi has approached Rolex CPO with characteristic ambition and real investment, with a large inventory and a purpose-built boutique in the Wafi Mall, about 30 minutes away from the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world.

Many CPO inventories focus almost exclusively on recent watches; Daytonas, GMT-Masters, and other models that are the flavour of the day. Seddiqi has gone in the opposite direction, curating a more exotic selection.

The group’s chairman, Abdul Hamied Seddiqi, affirmed his commitment to the programme: “We have really invested a lot in CPO. We have collected a lot of pieces that didn’t exist as part of the normal collection and today we have about 500 pieces of CPO Rolex.”

The Seddiqi RCPO boutique in Wafi Mall. Image – Ahmed Seddiqi

Cultivating trust

Collectors are responding to the unique selection offered by the Seddiqi boutique. Mr Seddiqi explained, “People are really buying these pieces, especially the really expensive [off−catalogue pieces]. The second thing is that people trust us and also they have a guarantee from Rolex that with CPO it’s genuine with no modification…the bracelet, the dial…everything is genuine.”

The element of trust is something that came up repeatedly during the panel, with Mr Dufour noting that in the context of vintage watches, “It’s an industry where you have some money… when you have some money you always have the right guys and the bad guys.”

That trust extends far beyond Dubai, with Mr Seddiqi noting: “We have people from outside [the UAE] even from South America and Mexico come to buy CPO [from the Seddiqi boutique].”

This should not be surprising. Dubai excels at bringing the world together, and Seddiqi’s multi-generational stewardship of the region’s horological culture gives the boutique a sense of authority few retailers can match.

Abdul Hamied Seddiqi.

Concluding thoughts

What Seddiqi has created with its Rolex CPO boutique feels less like a retail concept and more like an institution; the boutique’s depth of inventory and access to unusual references set it apart from typical CPO offerings. And while Dubai’s connectivity brings collectors to the city, it’s the Seddiqi family’s credibility and curatorial eye that will keep them returning to the CPO boutique. As the secondary market becomes an ever more important pillar of modern watch collecting, this boutique illustrates what the future of certified pre-owned can look like when executed with ambition and clarity of purpose.