In Dubai’s elegant suburban Umm Suqeim neighbourhood, there’s a house that’s more gallery than residence. Meticulously crafted by Tamer Wali, it has been painstakingly designed over a decade to frame an ever-growing collection of art and objets d’art inside. But don’t call it a collection to his face.
“I cringe when I hear the term ‘collect,’” he admits with a half-smile, suggesting a subtle distaste for anything too self-promotional. “It sounds like hoarding. It’s not about how much you collect; it’s about what those pieces mean to you.” For Wali, collecting is less an act of acquisition than a personalised curation—an exercise in self-discovery where each piece is another step in search of narrative of beauty, craftsmanship, and introspection.
The journey of Wali’s art collection began later in life. As a self-made businessman from his early twenties, he rarely had spare time for personal introspection. Hailing from a family of doers, he says that the most important thing he inherited from his Syrian father and grandfather was their insatiable work ethic. After co-founding his company, Imdad, in 1993, he would spend the next thirty years building a significant name for himself thanks to its pioneering work in aesthetic medical technologies. Today, his Dubai-headquartered business empire operates in 10 countries, delivering industry-leading medical technologies to thousands of aesthetic clinics across the Middle East—by far the largest in its segment.
“Art really started for me as a distraction,” he explains. His sister, who works as an art advisor in London, started introducing him to the world of contemporary art. When he would visit her, they would visit galleries together. “There was something about contemporary art in particular that resonated with me. It really hit a note with me emotionally, and I just wanted to know more.” Again, it was his sister who would continue to educate and advise him on what to look for, and who the “blue chip” artists were that were really making a name for themselves.
“The art world is pretty crazy,” he admits with a chuckle. “When you consider the values some pieces command, as a businessman, it simply doesn’t make sense! But the thing with art is, once you learn about the really good stuff, your eye is trained.” Over the years, Wali has refined that eye to build a museum-worthy collection spanning works from French, German, Austrian, Norwegian, Danish, Korean, Italian, Brazilian, British, Lebanese, Tunisian, Algerian, and Syrian artists. He’s drawn to their pieces not by name or resale value, but by a sense of personal resonance—each piece meticulously selected for what he calls their “aesthetic resonance” and, each one, filing a malleable piece in his life’s story.
“The pieces are international because that’s how I feel,” he explains. “I am Syrian, but never lived there. I grew up in Saudi, but am not Saudi. I spent childhood summers in France, and travelled extensively in the world, USA, Europe, Korea…each of these places have had an impact on who I am. I feel connected in a way, so artists from these countries resonate with me.”
For Wali, art is not a matter of status or wealth; it’s an expression of self that can be shared with others. His home is proof of this ethos. Styled with an effortless elegance, it welcomes visitors not just as guests, but as fellow art lovers. Wali is known to host gatherings and dinners during Art Dubai, inviting international collectors into his home to experience what he has amassed. “There’s nothing wrong with saying something’s beautiful, and that’s why I like it,” he explains. It’s an open-door policy, a philosophy of sharing art not as a commodity but as a gift to anyone willing to experience it.
Even his children, he says, are starting to benefit from this philosophy. It’s not so much that Wali expects his children to become art lovers, but rather he hopes they’ll see art as a lens through which to view the world with depth, empathy, and a kind of silent beauty. “The other day I was sitting with my son, who asked about a particular artwork. So we start discussing the aesthetics, and then we go into the context, and then perhaps the socio economic and political reasons in which the artist works. Ultimately, I’m showing him that you can express strong views beautifully. Not everything has to be abrasive. Through my collection, my children have been exposed to great art. Do they care? No, but are they subconsciously evolving their artistic appreciation? Absolutely.”
Watches on the table (left to right): Historiques American 1921 in 18k Pink Gold; Historiques 222 in 18k Yellow Gold; Traditionnelle Complete Calender Openface in 18k Pink Gold; Patrimony Moon Retrograde Date Watch in 18k White Gold; Traditionnelle Tourbillon Chronograph in 18k Pink Gold; Patrimony Retrograde Day-Date in 950 Platinum; Wali is holding: Overseas Tourbillon in Grade 5 Titanium, all watches by VACHERON CONSTANTIN.
Art by Diana Al-Hadid, Duomo, 2013. Polymer gypsum, fiberglass, steel, plaster, pigmentDyptich, juta, mirror, gilded wood
Beyond his art collection, Wali’s love for watches and classic cars brings the same philosophy to life, albeit in different forms. His taste in watches is understated but precise; he’s been collecting Vacheron Constantin timepieces for decades—long before the exquisite Swiss watchmaker became a widely recognised name. But to Wali, these watches aren’t just accessories—they’re testaments to time and life itself. “The watches I collect are not very ‘in your face,’” he says. “I don’t buy them to show off or to brag.” For him, a watch is a personal companion, meant to be worn, meant to be experienced, even scratched. “I almost wait for a watch to get scratched, and then I think, ‘Great, now it’s alive!’”
in Grade 5 Titanium, by VACHERON CONSTANTIN
The way Wali sees it is that a well-worn watch is much like a person; it bears its marks, scars, and signs of life. “The watches I own, I wear. They have to have wrist time. They get scratched just like we get scars on our skin. That’s all just part of life.” It’s this perspective that distinguishes his approach—an appreciation of imperfections, of objects that evolve over time, bearing witness to the experiences of their owner.
When it comes to his preferred era in watchmaking, Wali’s tastes are set in the golden era of 1960s design. “I love the classic aesthetic. I like vintage watches, and re-editions of classic watches. That era of the 1960s was an era of pure design in both watches and cars.” It was was a time when form met function in its simplest, most beautiful incarnation. Unlike many collectors who pursue the industry’s most iconic models for status or investments, Wali’s focus is entirely on the joy a piece brings him. “If I look at a dial, it has to give me joy. If it doesn’t, I don’t want it.” he says simply.
Wali’s love for classic cars follows a similar ethos. He’s quick to clarify that he doesn’t collect cars to impress. Rather, it’s the experiences that come with these cars that he cherishes most. “What I love about collecting classic cars is that they give you access to experiences, like classic car rallies and meeting new and likeminded people.” To him, it’s not just about the machine, but about the shared passion and the people who appreciate the time, effort, and patience that go into restoring something to a state of unfiltered beauty. “People who love classic cars are always a bit alike,” he muses, “they appreciate the time and effort it takes to restore something, to bring it back to a state of perfection through the rawness via engineering, design and precision.”
That seems to be the central core to Wali’s approach to collecting—whether it’s art, watches, or cars—is about building a mosaic of meaning, a puzzle where each piece represents an appreciation of the effort (and committment) to build beauty.
His collection—oops, there’s that word again—he says, is “like putting together pieces of the puzzle of my life.” It’s not about amassing objects but rather about curating a set of experiences that reflect who he is and what he values. “I believe in quality, in the epitomy of things,” he says, “If it is not the best, I don’t want it.”
This philosophy of collecting aligns with his professional work at Imdad, where he’s spent years shaping the landscape of aesthetic medicine in the Middle East. In a way, his career and his collections share a common thread: a relentless pursuit of beauty and quality, paired with a profound respect for craftsmanship. Imdad has grown under Wali’s leadership, not just by embracing cutting-edge technologies, but by remaining deeply connected to the aesthetics and ethics of what beauty represents. Just as his watches aren’t locked up in a safe, his business isn’t simply about profit; it’s about elevating standards in an industry that is, at its best, a celebration of human art and innovation.
At the end of the day, Wali’s approach to collecting—art, watches, cars, or even medical technology—is all about intention, understanding, and passion. It’s a journey, a puzzle, and an autobiography crafted not in words but in moments and objects that resonate with meaning. “People’s collections have always been viewed as something of a status symbol,” he reflects. “What pieces do you own? Do you have a checkbox of who’s who? But, for me, it’s more personal.”
Which brings us back to his house. This personal museum of sorts, where Wali has attempted to curate not his vision of beauty, but of his life itself. Through his art, watches, cars and beyond, he reveals pieces of himself to the world—not in a bid for attention, but in an invitation for others to see life, as he does, through the lens of timeless, shared beauty. That is why he collects.
Photography by Oscar Munar / Styling by Nour Bou Ezz / Grooming by Kavyar Powell / Senior Producer: Steff Hawker / Fashion Assistant: Maanoshri Ganguly / Lighting Assistant: JeyJeyendran / Production Assistant: Marina Moravenova