Omar Chaoui likes to talk. More accurately, he likes to talk about watches. Even more accurately, he likes to talk about specific moments in time—something he calls ‘meaningful moments’. The affable Moroccan is perched on the edge of a sofa and excitedly talking about the key moments when he knew he needed to start his own watch company. His enthusiasm is contagious. His passion is heartfelt. His message is inspiring. His company is called Magana.
Chaoui always knew that he wanted to start his own company. It wasn’t that he had a longing to be his own boss, but having seen his father work one steady job for 30 years to support his family, he was determined not to let that personal sacrifice go to waste, and was going to maximise the opportunity. “It’s a case of looking both forward and backwards,” he says.
“I often think about the impact my father’s relationship with his work had on me, and I consider the same with my kids. He was a provider, but also scared to rock the boat. Part of my drive to be an entrepreneur is to be an example for my children, not just to tell them that they can achieve anything, but to actually show them by going out into the world and building something of real value.”
By his own admission Chaoui is not a watch designer or a watchmaker, but he has worked in the industry for more than 20 years, as a ‘brand man’ and also as an avid collector. He fell in love with mechanical watchmaking back in 2003, when he got his first job in the industry—as is often the case. From the outside, watches are simple wrist décor—a finishing flourish to a well-considered outfit—but once you catch the bug, and embed yourself in the ingenious intricacies of the craft, it is hard to shake.
“I was desperate to start my own brand, but the fact that I wasn’t a watchmaker was
always something that would hold me back,” he confesses. “I had gained so much knowledge and worked with some truly incredible people, but it is a very insular industry and it can be very tough to go against the grain.”
In an industry that is notoriously obsessive about tradition, he is right to be cautious. Throughout history it was the reputation of the watchmakers—the craftsmen—that carried the weight of the industry. It was their names that became brands. Abraham-Louis Breguet, Antoine LeCoultre, Edouard Heuer, Willy Breitling—just a few in a long line of watchmakers whose surnames are now globally established trademarks.
Magana is not a surname. In Chaoui’s native Moroccan dialect it is simply the word for ‘watch’. Straightforward, considered and—importantly —not ego-driven, it is a fitting choice of name for the type of brand that Chaoui is building. The type of brand that he believes the watch industry needs more of.
“At the beginning I asked myself what was the purpose of all of this? I am not bringing a game-changing product to market, but what I can do is use my experience to perhaps help correct industry behaviour that I feel doesn’t sit right with today’s customers,” he says stressing that it is Magana’s value set, rather than its product, that is at the core of the business.
That value set he explains are culture, togetherness and mindfulness. For Chaoui, Magana is targeted at “modern urban nomads” —people with a conscience for community, and who prefer to spend their time and money on experiences to enrich themselves. “We believe that the way we consume products today must come with a sense of responsibility. We have spent taken the last two years working to bring qualitative, well-designed and well-executed mechanical watchmaking to people at a fair and transparent price.” That price is approx. AED6,000.
Magana is targeted at “modern urban nomads” —people with a conscience for community, and who prefer to spend their time and money on experiences to enrich themselves.
When it comes to the product, Magana’s strategy is to launch one model at a time, four times a year, exclusively through the brand’s website. According to Chaoui, each model will only have 212 units released and will deliver them within four months from the drop date. Why 212? It’s the international dialing code for Morocco—meaningful details.
The first ‘drop’ was in April 2023. Kicking off the first of four ‘tributes to ancient cities’, is a watch dedicated to the city Fes, where Chaoui’s family has roots. As you can imagine, every aspect of the 40mm Automatic timepiece comes with a story behind it—for example, the dial displays the day and month in subdials (“because people really love the aesthetic of the chronograph, but no one actually uses the function!”); and the seconds hand is coloured in a striking shade of blue that’s synonymous with Fes’ renowned history of pottery.
Another key decision taken is not to have a permanent collection of timepieces. At Magana, once each of the 212 pieces are sold, consider them gone. It’s a point where Chaoui stands his ground, believing that a fixed number will help both deal with the increasingly fraught situation of extended waiting lists for new watches, and will minimise environmental impact in terms of the quantity of materials needed.
“People really love the aesthetic of the chronograph, but no one actually uses the function!”
– Omar Chaoui, Founder, Magana
As evidenced by the awareness of the supply-demand situation, one of the key things that Chaoui has learnt from his work in the watch industry, is that he knows where the bodies are buried—figuratively, that is.
“The phrase ‘Swiss Made’ has enormous power,” he explains. “One of the great successes of the industry was the proliferation of the importance that watches—the best watches—should be made in Switzerland. And so brands that have that Swiss Made stamp of approval can (and do) charge the customer accordingly for it.”
It’s something that has never really sat well with Chaoui, who wanted his company to offer a different approach. Taking his lead from his adopted home of Dubai, his vision was to offer a distinctly more inclusive and fully international approach.
While the company is run from Dubai, the design work is done in France, the R&D in La-Chaux-de-Fonds in Switzerland. The movements for the pieces are sourced from Miyota in Japan and the component manufacturing takes place in Hong Kong.
“Sure, if a centuries-old Swiss watchmaker continues to produce exceptional mechanical timepieces with intricate and artisanal finishing, then of course it should have a much higher value because of the skill and craftsmanship required. However, there are luxury brands whose timepieces are machine-made en mass and marked up in price simply because the machines are located in Switzerland. I think it is unjust. Business shouldn’t solely be about profit margins. It should also be about giving back.”
It’s clear that community is a crucial element to Magana’s structure. Despite its size, the budding company has CSR commitments baked into its core. Due to a partnership with NGO ‘Trees for the Future’, for every watch sold the brand has pledged to plant 212 trees in Sub-Saharan Africa, and donate a sizable portion of its annual profits to train communities in the region on sustainable land use so that they can foster vibrant economies.
“Ultimately, buying a watch is a luxury for yourself, but we want to create the sense
that buying a Magana watch is something that benefits you on a deeper level,” he says, “one that creates a meaningful moment”