Inside Watches & Wonders’ American Debut In Miami Design District

The extremely prestigious and globally-recognized Watches & Wonders event usually takes center stage in destinations like Hong Kong. But for the first time ever, the four-day affair took place in the US, and it chose none other than Miami’s famed Design District (MDD) as its venue.

Miami Design District Associates (MDDA) partnered with Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie (FHH) for the momentous occasion, which brought 21 of the biggest luxury timepiece manufacturers together from around the world. This included A. Lange & Söhne, Audemars Piguet, Bulgari, Cartier, Hermès, Hublot, IWC, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Louis Vuitton, Panerai, Parmigiani Fleurier, Piaget, Tag Heuer, Vacheron Constantin and Van Cleef & Arpels. The event gave attendees a unique opportunity to check out the brands’ latest timepieces (many of which were debuted during the Salon Internationale de la Haute Horlogerie, or SIHH, festival in Geneva), and to meet with various executive team members, watchmakers and artisans. Other watch brands—such as RJ-Romain Jerome, F. P. Journe and Ralph Lauren—also set-up pop-up shops in MDD’s Palm Court.

The Friday night kick-off cocktail party was hosted by FHH, where guests sipped on delicious libations and enjoyed DJ Brendan Fallis‘ music, while mingling with luxury watch brand executives and watchmakers around the iconic Buckminister Fuller Fly’s Eye Dome in MDD’s Palm Court.

During WWM, over 20,000 attendees were privy to unique events and activations, including ‘Telling Time’—a special exhibition that put together nine films by contemporary artists from around the world—educational workshops, lectures and roundtable discussions. The International Museum of Horology in Switzerland also led a workshop for children with WWM, teaching them how to make time-measuring tools. Guests also enjoyed the Haute Living Concours D’Elegance, which housed several exotic cars, including a 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4, a 1967 Lamborghini 400GT 2+2 and a 1956 Mercedes 300SL Gullwing.

“We are thrilled with the debut of Watches & Wonders Miami and the fantastic reception we received here in the US,” said Chairwoman and Managing Director of the FHH, Fabienne Lupo, “The event exceeded our expectations with very strong attendance, and we saw a true partnership with Craig Robins and his team at the Miami Design District. We are very excited for the future.”