I should’ve had this done the day I returned home from Miami, but because I had such a great time, I lost my phone and here we are, 3 weeks later.
Rewind 3 weeks, and there I was, due to unforeseen circumstances at work I could not leave at the time I wanted and I felt that for each minute of me leaving late, resulted in 15 minutes of delay. I arrived late at the event – way late. However, I did make it there around 7:30 on Friday night when the even was to “close” at 8. Given that this is Miami, nothing closes this early.
First, I met up with the Moser folks, and special thank you to Mike Margolis for having me around and checking out their offering last minute. Next thing I know, Edourd Meylan, CEO of Moser shows up and I’m shaking hands with him. The Moser ‘Diver’ (Pioneer Center Seconds with Rotating Bezel) was one of the pieces that really stood out for me. The Moser diver is much better in person than the press photos. The blue is very dynamic and the bracelet is comfortable.
Next up, I had an appointment with Nadya at JLC, and we saw some of the (lit) SIHH releases. I have to say the enamel dials look amazing in person. When I first saw the press photos, I felt they might have been too strong, but in the flesh, they were lovely. Anyway, you be the judge:
If cash was not an issue, I definitely would purchase one of these beauties. Unfortunately, the owner of the Westminster piece was not present and I wasn’t able to take a picture of it from afar. You can also see from the pictures, the lovely Spherotourbillon. Which I didn’t even know existed…
Next stop was A. Lange Söhne. Daniel from ALS was present and we were in the back of the boutique where I had privacy and was able to take my time to shoot the photos of the 25th anniversary Lange 1 with the hunter case back and the Datograph TourbillonTourbillon A tourbillon is a complication in a mechanical watch that is designed to improve the accuracy of the watch by compensating for the effects of gravity on the balance wheel and escapement. It consists of a rotating cage that holds the balance wheel and escapement, which rotates on its own axis once per minute. This rotation helps to average out the positional errors caused by gravity, making the watch more accurate [Learn More] in pink gold. A full hands-on review of all pieces mentioned is pending, but have a quick look below, so pretty.
Next stop, Seiko Boutique! This is where things got a bit out of control. Unlike the previous visits, Seiko was open to the public, so it was a bit more chaotic and definitely the pictures didn’t come out as well as I had hoped given the number of people touching watches and difficulty of shooting the watches in such a large crowd. I managed to get a few shots and spoke with the store manager Rocky and Joe Kirk, who is one incredible photographer but also expert in Grand Seiko. P.S. the whiskey got to me
Next stop? IWC, which is just across the promenade from JLC and Lange Boutique. Nadya dropped me off and the IWC store was busy with people. The staff is friendly and there were many models of SIHH in display, you can see from the pictures here, only one missing is the new Top Gun chronographChronograph A chronograph complication is a feature in a watch that allows the wearer to measure elapsed time in addition to telling the time. It works by having a separate set of gears and levers, called the chronograph mechanism, which is activated by pressing a button or a pusher. The chronograph mechanism starts and stops the chronograph's second hand, which is usually located on the watch's dial, separate from the regular watch hands. The elapsed time is usually displayed on a sub-dial or a register on the watch's dial. [Learn More].
The watches looked beautiful and it was great to handle these in person and put on the wrist. And if you are a flieger nerd like me, nothing beats seeing the original 55mm flieger from WWII, which was on display in the case! Also present were the many beautiful ‘pilots’ there, they are very distracting. Word of caution though, when visiting a brand boutique do not bring your own said-brand watch to that visit. I was wearing my own IWC and as I took it of, people thought it was a display model. You can imagine what happened to it..
I think after all that horological abundance, the day drinking and being in a euphoric state all day finally caught up to me. Especially when you get to meet so many different people and fellow collectors (and more importantly – taking wrist shots with them)
What happened after is a total nightmare for me. Uber mishap, lost phone, and all that. However, if I had the chance to live that Saturday again, I would not change a thing! If you can make it, make sure to attend the next one, it’s certainly worth a visit.
Jeff, what a pleasure to read 🙂 I’m so sorry to read about your phone, I hope it didn’t cause too much trouble afterwards! Looks like SIHH but in a more fun environment if you ask me. Will try and make it there next year with you!
Intro sentence is just about as good as it gets, sounds like you had a great time! 😀
Sure seems like a lot more fun event than the ones we get in Europe.
Looking forward to seeing those pieces in more detail in the reviews.
All are pending release the coming weeks (before Baselworld)! 🙂
That ALS is bonkers and I love the new IWC Spitfire collection. Definitely need to make the trip to Miami for this next year.
You guys should meet up next year! And with a bit of luck – me as well. let’s make this happen! 🙂
P.S: Hands-on review of that ALS is pending, gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous