Madison Avenue Watches Replica Week

Now into its 6th year and still going strong, Madison Watch Week came to a close this past Wednesday. Initially launched as a loose model of NY Fashion Week for the watch industry, the event strives to bring the Baselworld and SIHH experience to Madison Avenue by allowing collectors and enthusiasts the opportunity to see the year’s best new releases hands-on in March rather than having to wait it out until retailers take deliveries later on in the year.

L.U.C. Chopard Perpetual Chrono

Going out with a bang, the week’s festivities came to a close as RedBar and Chopard joined forces for an entertaining evening of music, cocktails, and of course plenty of shiny hardware for all to fawn over. All of Chopard’s latest novelties from Baselworld were on display, including the stunning L.U.C. Chopard Perpetual Chrono, the new Mille Miglia XL Race edition, and of course the 40th anniversary re-edition of the Chopard Happy Diamonds collection.

Chopard Grand Prix de Monaco

As lovely as those pieces all are, the real treat was hiding upstairs in the boutique where two upcoming releases were very cautiously on display. The brand is bringing a pair of interesting new pieces to market later on in the fall, and during the event guests were invited to see, handle, and try on the new timepieces — provided they were happy to travel up the stairs, leave their smartphones and cameras at the door and agree to be sworn to secrecy until the embargo lifts later this year. (Buy me a round and ask me nicely, I may give you an answer…)

The week’s events as a whole proved once again reasonably well attended on all fronts, though sadly a handful of brands failed to come through with bringing over their Baselworld or SIHH novelties in time for the events. Jaeger LeCoultre delivered on all counts with the Gyrotourbillon and Master Calendar Meteorite, as did Montblanc, Faberge and Chopard, whereas Hublot and Vacheron sadly came up short.

Jaeger Le-Coultre Master Calendar Meteorite

Hublot was clearly more focused on the opening of their new flagship boutique on 5th Avenue, and 10 Years of All Black festivities at the Guggenheim than the were on getting New Yorkers some hands-on time with things like the Meca-10, the Big Bang Sapphire, and the Classic Fusion Berluti. Vacheron on the other hand were just barely a week off-track with the arrival of the new Overseas Chronograph. Lucky for us, we snagged it moments after its arrival and it is currently being put through its paces for a Week on The Wrist review. Interestingly enough, F.P. Journe’s activities during watch week coincided with the 25th anniversary of his first Tourbillon, and thanks to the help of some of his avid collectors, the boutique was nicely packed with a mix of his works both past and present.

F.P. Journe Elegante

From one end of the strip to the other there was no shortage of interesting sights and sounds a this year’s Watch Week. It’s been a busy time in the watch world of late, and just as things are winding down we were quickly reminded that events like Timecrafters, and the amazing Phillips Geneva Watch Auction 3 is now just around the corner. Stay tuned, folks, because May is setting itself up to be a pretty interesting month.