Tarek Hafez has welcomed the shift towards quiet luxury in recent years. “I’m not a fan of flashy things,” says the Dubai-based dentist. “Understated luxury means something to me from an emotional perspective. I think there’s value in taking a sophisticated and complex idea or product and making it look beautifully elegant. I apply that attitude to things in my life.”
Rather fittingly considering his aesthetic tastes, Hafez is a sought-after implantologist and prosthodontist practicing at the high-end Apa Aesthetic Dental & Cosmetic Centre in Dubai. A premium dentistry chain led by the renowned Dr Michael Apa with branches in Miami, Los Angeles and the original clinic in New York City, Apa Aesthetic delivers ‘want-based’, ultra-personalised services — and Hafez is at the forefront of them here in Dubai. When conducting his meticulous work he wears a Longines Master 42 Automatic GMT, which he bought in Dubai Mall in 2017 one year after moving to the UAE. While representing a personal career landmark, the watch’s time zone indicator also reminds him of his family. “I live in Dubai, my parents live in Cairo and my sister lives in New York so the watch has emotional attachment for me,” he smiles. “I like this watch because it looks simple and clean, it’s not loud. As soon as I saw it in the store, it spoke to me.”
Another reason why the watch appealed to Hafez is because it connected him to his father, himself a keen watch collector who, Hafez remembers, kept his collection in a suitcase at their home in Egypt. When Hafez was 20, his father opened the suitcase and gifted him a vintage Longines and a vintage Rolex. “I don’t wear the Rolex because I don’t love steel bracelets but I sometimes — very carefully — wear the Longines. They’re obviously very special to me. When my dad gave me that Longines I thought, one day I want to get my own watch.”
Years later when Hafez stood in the Longines Dubai Mall boutique buying his first mechanical watch, he also bought one for his father. “It felt great to give my dad a watch. I know he has nicer watches in his collection, that’s for sure, but he appreciated the emotion of the one I gave him and he wears it today.”
Second chapter
Now 38 and excited to become a father for the first time in February, Hafez feels the moment is approaching when he will add a second luxury watch to his collection. “I think this second watch symbolises a major milestone for me. It’s not just about getting any watch, I want to be emotionally attached to it first.” One factor that will play an important role in his decision is storytelling. “I want a watch with a story behind it, definitely,” he says. “For example, I love how the Santos de Cartier was created for an aviator. For me, that adds value to the watch.”
Hafez is seeking a timepiece in a different style to his Longines GMT, so anything with a white dial is out. “I like dials with colour but not black. Green dials look good but blue is my favourite colour, so I’m drawn to those.” He’s also certain that his next watch will have a leather strap in a shade of light brown to complement the clothes in his wardrobe. In terms of case material, Hafez is leaning towards white gold or stainless steel, but not rose gold: “It’s too much for me, white gold is a little more subtle.”
Browsing watches on Instagram has been Hafez’s primary source of research so far. Along with Cartier, Hafez admires Patek Philippe. “I don’t care if a brand has a celebrity ambassador,” he explains. We scan through photographs of iconic pieces as Hafez gives his verdict. Audemars Piguet Royal Oak: “I love it, it’s got character but it’s not flashy.” Breitling Navitimer: “My dad has a few Breitlings, but the dial is quite busy and I don’t like the big pushers.” Cartier Tank: “Small and simple, I like it.” IWC Pilot’s Watch Mark XX: “Really nice, this is beautiful.” Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso: “Timeless, it would look elegant in any decade.” TAG Heuer Carrera: “That’s really good, the blue dial looks great.” Hamilton Field Watch: “I actually like that, it looks clean, I like the combination of beige and green.” Santos de Cartier: “I’m more of a sporty guy, and I feel the Santos has that great mix of elegant and casual.”
Made by hand
Browsing these pieces has fired Hafez’s imagination and he’s excited to acquire his second piece “when the time is right.” Working in top level dentistry gives him an appreciation of the precision that goes into horology. “I think there’s beauty in taking such a complicated product like a watch with so many different parts and getting it, not just to work properly, but to look beautiful as well,” he says. “That’s how I see dentistry: it must be functional but also natural. I don’t believe that a smile makeover should be loud, it should be subtle and beautiful — and it should still look like you.”
Craftsmanship is another alluring element. “Watches are not mass products built by machines, there’s experience and effort and human touch behind them, which takes it to a completely different level,” he says. “When you see adverts for watch brands, they always show a person sitting there, making something with their hands. It’s the same thing in my industry, we have people working on handmade designs without the use of machines.”
Understandably, impending fatherhood is on his mind, but buying a second watch is also on the horizon. Hafez smiles: “It’s a moment that speaks to who I am, and where I’m at in my life.”
