ampurist's recap of Watch Week 2015 provides a vibrant overview of Madison Avenue's annual watch and high jewelry event. This article captures the essence of brand presentations, new boutique openings, and significant partnerships, offering readers a glimpse into the luxury watch world's 'fashion week.' It highlights key moments and initiatives from major brands like A. Lange & Söhne, Panerai, and Jaeger-LeCoultre.
After five days of presentations, exclusive viewings, breakfasts, and cocktail parties, Watch Week 2015 came to a close. With the new burst in social media channels, the world has witnessed the chatter and seen glimpses of the watch world's fashion week.
For the newcomers, Madison Avenue Watch Week is the annual watch and high jewelry event co-hosted by The Wall Street Journal and the Madison Avenue Business Improvement District. The week is filled with multiple famous watch brands such as Vacheron Constantin, Hublot, and Jaeger-LeCoultre showing the new models released during BaselWorld and SIHH to those who were not lucky enough to attend.
Monday April 21, 2015 marked the first day of the annual Madison Avenue Watch Week in which Ami Rosi hosted her annual Watch Bloggers Breakfast at Plaza Athenée.
Many brands, like A. Lange & Söhne and Panerai used Watch Week to host their first public event at their new New York boutiques. A. Lange & Söhne revealed the opening of the new boutique boasting a beautiful repair workshop on the top floor while Panerai boasted its brand new Madison Ave. boutique modeled after the Florence office.
Partnerships were announced and honored like the Jaeger-LeCoultre seven-year partnership with UNESCO. Also hosting a breakfast, selected guests were invited to the boutique in which JLC President of North America, Philipe Bonay, introduced Fanny Douvere, of UNESCO World Heritage, and nature photographer Mike Kelley. Although this year no specific model was made exclusively for the partnership, JLC had a remarkable display of Mark Kelley's work throughout the boutique. Shots of the Alaskan glaciers and wilderness draw attention to the beauty and delicacy of this wonderland during the global environmental crisis. In honor of Earth Day, Mr. Bonay, Mrs. Douvere, and Mr. Kelley gave a presentation regarding the importance of the partnership and the urgent need of action in saving the environment.
Following a trip to Washington DC earlier that week, Kelley's photography mirrored a feeling evoked by the Brian Skerry exhibit at the Natural History Museum. These beautiful photos not only allows viewers to peek into the natural lives of these animals, but evoke a sense of sadness as each subject's natural habitat is severely impacted by environmental ignorance. Having spent most of his life in Alaska, Mr. Kelley has seen the global impact on the private place he calls his sanctuary and hopes that by partnering with JLC and bringing his "safe place" into the public eye, he can help save the planet one photograph at a time.
Another newly born partnership is that between Hublot and Italia Independent. The duo has launched the brand new Big Bang UNICO Italia Independent, which uses the classic case shape of the Big Bang but is created using a brand new material, Texalium. Texalium is aluminum-coated carbon fiber giving the notable characteristic of lightness to this new watch. The interest in this new material is fueled by the interest in finding a way to introduce a variety of color to the carbon fiber material. The UNICO Italia Independent will be offered in two colors, grey or blue, in a 500-piece limited edition in each color.
Hublot has taken a page out of the luxury fashion influence and has created the strap from a denim fabric with metal studs. This new model also includes a "One Click" technique making the changing of the strap very easy. So far, this seems to be the new trend. Although a very old idea, there has been a resurge in the interest in making strap changing very easy. Panerai, Hublot, and Ernst Benz pushed the idea behind easily creating a personality behind every watch to match the ever-changing tastes of its audience. Ernst Benz even insures their watches with a 2-year guarantee that if the consumer wants to change or personalize any part of the watch, the brand will change it for free.
Along with the UNICO, the group was treated to a very special look at the Hublot Shawn Carter watch. Released back in 2013, these limited edition pieces only have 250 in black ceramic and 100 in yellow gold. The cutout in the dial is the Shawn Carter logo, which partially reveals the HUB1330 movement.
Bringing warmth and vibrancy to a long-lasting history among friends, Ernst Benz and John Varvatos hosted their Madison Ave. Watch Week event at the John Varvatos store. Not only did the displays include the collaboration between the two, all models of Ernst Benz were available for show.
I had the opportunity to meet with Mr. Kahnkin to see the pieces up close and to discuss the matters of the moment. What is the new focus on women's watches and how should they be sold? What is the attitude toward the release of the iWatch? What is new on the horizon for the Miami based brand? I will reveal our discussion in another post.
My last stop on the Blogger's Breakfast tour was Chopard. Welcomed with macaroons and champagne, we were treated to view the Chopard Clé, Mille Miglia GTS Power Control, and the new L.U.C Chrono One. The Mille Miglia is definietly a car lover's watch as the strap looks exactly like a tire and the feel is sporty and fast. The L. U. C Chrono One is almost on the complete opposite side of the scale. This watch has been designed with the hour hand at the 3 and the second at 6. The reasoning behind this new placement is so that telling the time will no longer be a distraction in business meetings.
With a gentle tug of the wrist, the shirtsleeve will no longer act as a curtain hiding the time when the minute or hour hand is in the 6-12 range. Personally, this reminded me of the brief conversation touched upon at breakfast earlier in the day in which the idea of the wrist as real estate was discussed. Is removing the motion of pulling back the sleeve really what businessmen or watch collectors are seeking to do? The design of the watch adheres to the classic Chopard look of a men's watch, but are they trying to "fix" a problem that isn't really there?
Although each visit was brief, and I personally did not get a chance to visit all of the boutiques participating in Madison Avenue Watch Week, I was able to see a lot in a little time. Personal highlight? Trying on the Hublot Shawn Carter and meeting photographer Mark Kelley. Until next year!
-ampurist
**Due to my phone being stolen, almost all personal pictures taken during this time was lost. Please find pictures of a few of the watches feature during Watch Week.
The Panerai Luminor 1950 3 Days GMT Automatic Ceramica - The case is made of zirconium oxide, 3 day power reserve, automatic mechanical Panerai movement
de Grisogono Instrumento N°Uno Annual Calendar - Calibre QA 20 – 89 – self-winding mechanical, 42 hour power reserve
Montblanc Timewalker Extreme Chronograph DLC - The "DLC" treatment is a treatment in which minuscule glass spherules of the stainless steel case are blasted under high pressure making a texture in which the DLC become inseparable from, creating the matte finish. The strap inlay is made of black "Vulcarboné" rubber.
Zeitwerk Minute Repeater - 36 hour power reserve, hours and minutes in jumping numerals, decimal minute repeater, acoustic time indication consists of a low-pitched tone for each hour, a double tone for each ten-minute and
high pitched tone for each minutes passed
Jaeger-LeCoultre Geophysic® 1958 Boutique Edition - housing a 898/1 Calibre movement, this watch was design for the utmost precision.
