Swiss watch brand Franck Muller and developer London Gate’s latest luxury residential venture Aeternitas is a meticulously crafted timepiece
Branded residences are booming in Dubai as developers up the ante with each new announcement, bringing on board the best and highest luxury brands they can find. Real estate developer London Gate didn’t take long to join the challenge.
The record-setting structure, with a futuristic boulevard floating 100 metres above the street, offers 360-degree views of the city, while also providing a home for some of the UAE’s most exciting new restaurants.
Last month, London Gate launched Aeternitas in collaboration with luxury watch brand Franck Muller, a 450-metre-high tower in Dubai Marina topped with a Franck Muller clock that will be visible from six kilometres away.
The project is slated to be the second-tallest clock tower in the world as well as the tallest residential clock tower in the world. It joins a neighbourhood of very tall buildings, such as Marina 101 (425m) and Princess Tower (414m). For context, the tallest clock tower in the world, the Makkah Clock Royal Tower in Saudi Arabia, stands at 601m.
The name ‘Aeternitas’ was derived from Franck Muller’s eponymous wristwatch—the most complex ever made with 36 complications and 1,483 components, all built in-house. The name itself comes from Latin and means ‘eternity’, referring to the boundless calendar in the Aeternitas Mega watch that follows a 1,000-year cycle renewable to infinity. A single watch can take as much as a year to make.
The under-construction project has an estimated value of $544.4 million (AED2 billion) with handover expected in Q2 2027.
With the vast number of luxury branded residences that have now come up in Dubai, what makes a joint venture between a watch brand and a developer different from all the other branded luxury residential partnerships out there?
For one, it’s a perfect fit when the project in mind is a clock tower, says Tom Hill of London Gate. “Collaboration with a watch brand was a perfect fit for this tower, and then the Aeternitas watch is the most complicated watch in the world. People who are following us as developers will have seen that we’re committed to extraordinary living, high-quality development, and attention to detail. So, lots of things from the two companies just fit.
“I cannot speak for other brands, but what I can say for Frank Muller is that we created something tangible,” Erol Baliyan, Managing Director, Franck Muller tells CW Property Middle East, “where you see the clock. It’s not just only putting the brand [logo]. This is more than that.”
“We put the DNA of the brand in every corner. You will see the clock in every corridor. And on top of it all, it’s a Guinness record-breaking building [for being the tallest residential clock tower in the world].”
Hill also speculates that a major driver behind the high demand for branded luxury residences in Dubai is the value of brand association for a discerning, brand-conscious and mobile clientele in the real estate market. “With such a [large] expat community [in Dubai], I think people want to have a brand associated with a tower because it means they’re going to get handed over a really high-quality product.”
“When we were looking at the project—having a clock tower—we wanted to associate with a world-renowned brand,” says Hill.
“There’s also not a lot of land left in Dubai Marina,” he says, “which just increases demand because it’s always going to be one of the prime areas in Dubai.”
Standing tall at 106 floors, the tower will include extravagant sky mansions, sky villas, and meticulously designed one, two, and three-bedroom residences, with prices starting from around $436,000 (AED1.6 million).
In addition to its prime location at the heart of the best area that Dubai has to offer, Aeternitas is designed to deliver an exceptional lifestyle experience, featuring amenities ranging from a Zen garden, cigar lounge, and library, to a private cinema, spa, yoga room, and private 24/7 concierge services.
These are a few among many other lifestyle features and details carefully curated to offer an exclusive residential living befitting an elite audience. Those who book units in the building, for example, have been promised a matching Franck Muller watch to go with their Aeternitas address.
“This iconic tower will offer unparalleled views of the Dubai Marina with each detail reflecting our shared values of precision, innovation, and heritage for our discerning clientele,” stated Eman Taha, CEO of London Gate.
“Ever since our launch in Dubai, we have been focused on bringing iconic additions to the Dubai skyline.”
Taha also revealed that apart from Aeternitas, London Gate will have 2,000 high-end residential units across prime locations in Dubai over the next six months. Key upcoming projects include Nadine I and II, as well as Maya V, located in Al Furjan and Jumeirah Village Triangle.