A seasoned watch dealer turned watchmaker has created a watch to celebrate two years of the historic UAE Israel Peace Deal, the Abraham Accords.
“The Abraham Accords between the UAE and Israel is a peace treaty of previously-unseen proportions which many thought was impossible. It was a brave, bold move from both sides,” says Morris Weiss, 32, creator of the Peace Of The Brave watch. “Two years on from the treaty being signed, this watch, a symbol of what has come to be, with the flags of two nations proudly interlinked, embodies something no-one could ever have imagined. Two nations have established deep commercial, cultural and humanitarian collaborations and two nations have become friends, living like brothers and sisters. The watch also symbolises how things could be and that further peace is possible. In the past two years the UAE and Israel have forged links spanning spheres as diverse as medicine, fashion, cyber tech, sports, search and rescue and library digitisation.”
A peace motif decorates the dial, with the Hebrew word for peace, Shalom, ending where the Arabic word, Salam, begins. Three dimensional interlocked flags from both nations are applied to the dial with gold flagpoles for a luxurious finish. An automatic watch movement is seen via a sapphire crystal exhibition caseback displaying the inner workings of the watch, powered by the movement of the wearer. The crown of the watch is adorned with an olive branch, an icon of peace.
A conversation starter if ever there was one, the watch is already capturing the attention of both Emiratis and Israelis.
“Seeing the Peace Of The Brave watch rendered me speechless as I reflected on what this peace symbolises for our two nations,” says Yusif Ahmed, project manager at ADNOC Refining in Abu Dhabi. “The relationship between the UAE and Israel is getting stronger and stronger each year, via business and tourism, but also thanks to the warm relationships between individuals. The peace agreement is more than a document between governments and prime ministers, it is an agreement between two nations, from top to bottom. We have been waiting for this moment. This watch is something I will always cherish.”
Creator of the Peace Of the Brave watch, Morris Weiss, has adored watches and entrepreneurship since his childhood in Manchester in the 1990s. He started his first business aged 12 and today is the owner of Watch Exchange Ltd, specialising in pre-owned Rolex and Breitling watches. In 2020, at the height of the pandemic, he moved with his wife and two children to Israel and created the IDW watch to celebrate the peace treaty. The watch won over an influential Emirati who then posted a clip on Linkedin expressing his admiration for the IDW watch, which garnered 31,000 views and 1500 likes within 6 days and helped prompt orders from 4 continents. The design of the Peace Of The Brave watch was inspired by feedback based on the original IDW watch.
Creating the Peace Of The Brave watch was a natural step bearing in mind Weiss’s passions and network.
Creator of the Peace Of the Brave watch, Morris Weiss
“As a seasoned watch dealer, I spend most of my time chatting to watch lovers who are trying to avoid getting their wives and girlfriends annoyed that they’re burning more money on another watch. There are lots of scary and worried emojis with messages like “I’ll have a word with the wife”. My own wife has come to understand that in my case, a passion for watches is a thirst that can never be quenched.”
Peace Of the Brave watch, by Morris Weiss
Founding Member of the UAE Israel Business Council Justine Zwerling says: ‘Two years on from the historic and life-changing Abraham Accords, this beautiful timepiece celebrates our warm and precious future of friendship, culture and trade between the UAE and Israel. The Peace of the Brave watch is symbolic and captures how far we have come in such a short time.”
The watch is available from www.idweditions.com priced at £395.
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