New Watch Reveals, Celebrity Sightings, and In-Person Reunions: WatchTime New York Wraps Up its 2021 Edition in Grand Fashion
WatchTime New York 2021 wrapped up this Sunday following three days of new wristwatch presentations, talks, and warm reunions as the global watch community gathered for the first live, in-person WatchTime New York event since 2019. The triumphant comeback also marked a notable expansion for the major event, widely regarded as America’s most important public watch event dedicated to collectors, which this year offered a packed three-day lineup, held at Gotham Hall from Friday, October 22 to Sunday, October 24, 2021. The event, produced by WatchTime and presented in partnership with sponsors Tourneau/Bucherer and BMW, also marked one of the first large-scale luxury events in New York City to successfully reconvene post-quarantine.
The sixth edition of WatchTime New York kicked off Friday, October 22 with a high-energy VIP cocktail event. Eager guests gathered in the Seiko-sponsored lobby before surging into the show floor under Gotham Hall’s famed rotunda. Well-heeled private collectors and watch enthusiasts got the first chance to mingle with brand executives and influencers in attendance while marveling at the latest offerings from the 28 registered brand exhibitors, including Chopard, Breguet, Blancpain, Seiko, Norqain, Grand Seiko, MB&F, and others, while enjoying top-shelf libations and passed hors d'oeuvre. Tourneau/Bucherer provided the event's signature "Bucherer Blue" cocktail.
This year’s longer three-day event format doubled the popular slate of WatchTime New York panels on Saturday and Sunday, October 23 and 24, featuring leading experts and figures from the watch world. This year’s panels, moderated by WatchTime Publisher Sara Orlando, WatchTime WatchTime Editor-in-Chief Roger Ruegger, and renowned collector and consultant Jeff Kingston, explored hot topics in the watch world today, from how the watch landscape has changed since 2019 in the wake of global disruption, to the state of women’s watch offerings in today’s marketplace, to the current landscape of brand collaborations. The final panel of the weekend covered the ongoing surge in demand and shortage of stainless-steel sport-luxury watches, with featured celebrity panelist and watch lover Aldis Hodge, star of One Night in Miami and City on a Hill.
WatchTime New York once again served as a major stage for new product launches. On Saturday, Oct. 23, recording artist and producer Swizz Beatz arrived to personally launch his new collaboration with De Bethune: the new Dream Watch 5. The new A. Lange & Söhne Zeitwerk Honeygold “Lumen” was announced live from the show floor on Sunday, Oct 24, coinciding with the brand’s anniversary.
Watch lovers who could not attend the show this year had the opportunity to tune in to a digital Time Out session with WatchTime Editor-in-Chief Roger Ruegger and Senior Editor Mark Bernardo, who recapped some of the event highlights and notable timepieces exhibited on site, which included but were not limited to the new Blancpain Air Command Titanium, Bremont Longitude, MB&F Legacy Machine Perpetual EVO in titanium, Arnold & Son Luna Magna Platinum, and MeisterSinger Unomat, as well as the U.S.-Exclusive Seiko Prospex SLA053 and SLA059 “Seigaiha'' Editions, and the Glashütte Original PanoMaticLunar Red Gold Green Dial. First-time exhibitors this year included Chopard, Massena LAB, and Norqain, among others.
“The success of our show this year underlines the fact that the luxury and watch industries are booming right now," said WatchTime Publisher Sara Orlando, "and collectors are eager for the kind of face-to-face, hands-on interactions that we have always facilitated at WatchTime New York.”
WatchTime Editor-in-Chief Roger Ruegger added, “We were so proud to have brougth WatchTime New York back live and in-person, not just safely, but on a bigger scale than ever before: with an extended schedule, more engaging panels than ever before, and welcoming new brands this year. We are excited to build on this momentum in 2022.”
