This past weekend, Miami was a hotspot for three of our favorite things here at Elite Traveler: watches, cars and yachts. In partnership with Miami Design District Associates (MDDA), the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie (FHH) debuted Watches & Wonders, the inaugural stateside event joining 21 of the world’s leading timepiece manufacturers, alongside the Miami Design District Concours and the Miami Yacht Show.
Beginning with an elegant cocktail party in the Palm Court, Watches & Wonders Miami provided a platform for brands to unveil their latest timepieces to collectors, watch enthusiasts and industry experts. Throughout the weekend, guests had the opportunity to visit the boutiques for in-store activations and liaise with artisans, executives and watchmakers. In series of watchmaking workshops, guests learned about assembling a watch movement, while key players in the watch world led an array of lectures and roundtable discussions. A special exhibition, Telling Time, showed nine films by international contemporary artists in celebration of the event. Participating maisons included A Lange & Söhne, Audemars Piguet, Bulgari, Cartier, Hermès, Hublot, IWC Schaffhausen, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Louis Vuitton, Panerai, Parmigiani Fleurier, Piaget, Tag Heuer, Vacheron Constantin and Van Cleef & Arpels. Armin Strom, F.P. Journe, Kari Voutilainen, Ralph Lauren, RJ-Romain Jerome and Romain Gauthier hosted additional pop-ups over the course of Watches & Wonders Miami.
The weekend also gathered motoring aficionados for the first Miami Design District Concours, showcasing more than 125 exotic and collectible cars in a day-long exhibition sponsored by Collection Suites. A panel of automobile experts and historians judged the cars on display as guests viewed some of the world’s rarest Post War sports, exotic and racing automobiles, including a 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4, 1967 Lamborghini 400GT 2+2 and 1956 Mercedes 300SL Gullwing.
For the seaworthy, Watches & Wonders Miami additionally coincided with the 31st annual Miami Yacht Show. Yachting enthusiasts gathered along Collins Avenue by Biscayne Bay to see more than 500 yachts from leading custom boat builders and brokers as well as attend the invitation-only Superyacht Miami showcase.
For more on the timepieces featured at Watches & Wonders Miami, please visit watchesandwonders.com. Check out the luxury car and boat shows that took place by visiting miamidesigndistrict.net and miamiyachtshow.com.