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In the watch world, the start of December means one thing: It’s time to pack your bags for Miami. And while there’s nothing strictly new about that—luxury brands have long congregated in Magic City this time of year to capitalize on the art world’s frenzy of events, from Art Basel to Design Miami—this year the number of watchmakers that are welcoming visitors to brand-new or revamped boutiques suggests that for the Swiss, Miami is an increasingly important destination.
On Wednesday, Rolex together with its retail partner, Luxury Swiss—whose owner, Steven Holtzman, also owns CD Peacock, a jewelry and watch megastore in Oak Brook, Ill.—opened a new 4,900-square-foot Rolex boutique in the Miami Design District. Located steps from the Cartier and Hermès boutiques and next door to Cote, a Michelin-starred Korean steakhouse, the new store features a dramatic Rolex-green façade with a reflective finish designed to evoke the look of water—a tribute to Miami’s seaside vibe. The space replaces an earlier store that Seymour Holtzman, Steven’s late father, opened in 2012.
“We were first in the Design District about 12 years ago when my dad opened the first boutique,” Holtzman tells Robb Report. “We wanted a larger space with a second floor and a bigger service center.”
The emphasis on Miami is indicative of a broader reality about the American market’s power centers. “Things have changed in the U.S.,” Holtzman says. “The three key markets for watch brands are New York City, Beverly Hills, and Miami. Each of the luxury brands—not just watch brands but substantial luxury brands—puts their best foot forward in those three markets, their biggest flagships and their most important stores. Miami is, in many ways, the gateway to so many parts of the world. It’s a connected city, an international city, and the clients are very sophisticated in their taste in watches.”
Inside Rolex’s new Miami boutique.
Rolex
That explains why Rolex is far from the only watchmaker prioritizing the look and feel of its brick-and-mortar presence in the 305. In November, Bulgari reopened its flagship store in the Miami Design District, a key location in the brand’s growing retail network in the U.S. “North America is a big focus for us,” Laura Burdese, Bulgari’s deputy chief executive, says. “So even at a time of tariffs and crazy gold prices, it still feels like the right thing to expand.”
In 2026, expect to see even more Swiss brands highlighting their new Miami homes. Take Vacheron Constantin, which first opened a boutique in the Design District in 2015. Come January, the brand is expected to christen a new two-story location in the district, its largest boutique in the region.
The rush to southern Florida reflects not only the shifting tides of America’s luxury trade, but also those south of the border. Miami, a.k.a. the “capital of affluent Latin America,” plays host to some of the world’s wealthiest and most discerning shoppers, especially those from Mexico, which in 2024 accounted for almost half of all Swiss watch exports to Central and South America. Greeting these clients in immersive retail environments is a top priority for many brands. That helps explain why there is a growing conviction among Swiss watchmakers that monobrand retail is the way forward, especially in cities like Miami, where preserving pricing and protecting a brand’s image are paramount.
Piaget‘s pop-up alongside its new watch.
Piaget
But real estate isn’t the only reason watchmakers are flocking to the Sunshine State this week. With so many art and design collectors in town, it’s the perfect opportunity for the Swiss to convince potential clients that their products are more than simply well-crafted timekeepers, but objects of high art and design that deserve to be viewed alongside more traditional artistry.
Piaget, for one, is making the art-timepiece connection crystal clear with its first participation in Design Miami, where the brand is paying tribute to Andy Warhol at a gilded booth dubbed the Golden Factory. (“Andy’s iconic studio is reimagined through Piaget’s own signatures with gold and colors; a reminder of the creative freedom and artistry that define both Andy Warhol and Piaget,” according to the brand.) The centerpiece of the showcase is none other than the 18-karat yellow-gold Andy Warhol “Collage” watch. Created earlier this year in collaboration with the Andy Warhol Foundation, the limited-edition timepiece features a colorful gemstone marquetry dial featuring an abstract patchwork of onyx, Namibian serpentine, pink opal, and chrysoprase. The artful face is meant to evoke one of Warhol’s iconic Polaroid collage self-portraits.
Hublot, on the other hand, is hosting the final party of its Big Bang 20th Anniversary series on Thursday, where the brand will introduce a new Big Bang Street Art Collection, a follow-up to its 2023 series of Meca-10 watches encased in composite concrete tagged with the colorful splatters of urban street art.
Cartier, meanwhile, is highlighting its Panthère collection with an immersive Into the Wild exhibition that runs at its Design District boutique Dec. 5-7. The installation tells the story of the brand’s enduring feline symbol through a series of multisensory rooms that explore its evolution, the creative visionaries who brought it to life and the remarkable craftsmanship that underpins its enduring legacy. Miami, here we come!
Authors
Victoria Gomelsky
Victoria Gomelsky is editor-in-chief of the jewelry trade publication JCK and a frequent contributor to the New York Times and Robb Report. Her freelance work has appeared in AFAR, WSJ Magazine, The…