Sohaib Maghnam is almost single handedly trying to convert the Middle East’s reputation as a great place to sell watches into a great place to design and produce watches. He’s the driving force behind not one but two of the region’s most exciting watch brands, Beda’a and the eponymous Maghnam. Maghnam is where he expresses his more Avant Garde design ideas with watches like the Mohareb, which today receives a new generation.
The name Mohareb in Arabic means gladiator or warrior, which is a reference to the sharp, aggressive lines of the case. The case itself has a dark grey, steel body with a matte finish (one of the major updates with this second generation as the original was polished), like the cockpit of a spacecraft. It’s also modular so it can be fit into one of three different configurations: Blades, Halo or Wings.
The Blades version of the Maghnam Mohareb is flanked on either side by polished blades that serve as the watch’s extended lugs. The Halo is then a traditional round case and the Wings is oval. Of note, while the press release notes that the new generation will have this feature, it’s only pictured in its Blades format. Despite its imposing design, it has a width of 39.5mm and a thickness of 8.6mm at the thickest point, making it sleeker than first appearances.
For the timekeeping elements, it has a bi-retrograde display split across two sapphire glass apertures. On the top of the watch is the retrograde minutes in a straight line while at the end of the watch, like an observation deck, is the hours. The hour scale alternates between traditional and sculpted hour markers while a large arrow traverses the track above it to serve as the retrograde hand. The new generation features two colour schemes Argent Crimson and Deep Blue, which use the associated colours across the two scales and straps.
Powering the bi-retrograde display is surprisingly a very familiar movement, the Sellita SW210 manual-winding with 42-hour power reserve. It’s of course fitted with a custom retrograde module but at its core is well respected Swiss engineering.
The Maghnam Mohareb is priced at CHF 7,200 excluding VAT (approx. £6,800). If you like the crazy styles and designs of brands like Urwerk or MB&F without the budget to afford them, Maghnam is a great alternative.
Price and Specs:
More details at Maghnam.
