Flagship Boutique In Miami Design District

[Cru Jones]

FYI. i wasn't able to shrink the size of the pictures, but, scroll through for the text.


http://www.forbes.com/sites/anthonyd...sign-district/


Panerai Opens Flagship Boutique In Miami Design District
AUG 27, 2015
Anthony DeMarco, CONTRIBUTOR


“Code” is a word used often by luxury watch brands. It pertains to historical, cultural and other significant signs (maybe even myth and legend) that are identifiable with a particular company. The various ways these codes are protected and expressed by the brands vary. For some it’s paid lip service while for others they are treated with absolute reverence.

There are few more protective of these codes than Angelo Bonati, CEO of Officine Panerai. There’s a good reason for this. He has been the head person and first employee of the luxury watch brand since 1997 when it was purchased by Richemont . What the luxury holding company bought was basically the remains of a small Florence-based watchmaker that once created timepieces for the Italian navy.



Angelo Bonati, CEO of Officine Panerai, at the entrance of the new Panerai boutique in the Miami Design Center


“It was a watch it was not a brand,” Bonati says. “We thought that it was good for Richemont because at that time it did not own any sports watch in their portfolio…. It was one watch but it was a watch full of energy because of the size, because of the uniqueness, because the story, the history behind the watch.”

Bonati used that history to turn the watch into a luxury brand with a strong, passionate international following. Panerai’s codes are evident in its new flagship boutique for the Americas—its 10th in the US and 65th worldwide.

The two-story, 2,200-square-foot retail space officially opened in July in an area dedicated to luxury watch and jewelry brands in the burgeoning Miami Design District. The long, narrow space with high ceilings has plenty of sunlight entering from large front windows, complementing the inside lighting. Walls and furnishings made of light-colored materials complete the contemporary space with a feeling of airiness and warmth.





The boutique represents a new design for the brand created by Patricia Urquiola, a Spanish-born Italian-educated architect and designer. Bonati, who was interviewed at the boutique, says it was important to choose a designer who understood Italian culture. (Urquiola’s Wikipedia page notes that the she is “Spanish by birth and Italian by choice.”) In addition, Bonati says the two had previously worked together.

“She brought all of the characteristics to express all the elements of Panerai , which is not easy to understand. Plus we had an experience with her because she was the director of an exhibition in Milan where the theme was time,” he says. “It was a very important exhibition and we were very impressed with her work.”





He adds, “It was her first experience working on a boutique for us and this is important because she was not (influenced) by other brands. If you do shops for different brands you cannot avoid mixing the styles.”

The retail space has a contemporary edge but still references the Florentine roots and seafaring nature of the watch brand. For example, one wall is made of light-brown woods while the other is made of undulated and transparent glass designed to replicate light being refracted and reflected in ocean water. The water theme is further enhanced with wall displays fashioned like ship portals. Rows of down lights have the appearance of light fixtures from an old ship.

A chandelier that replicates Panerai watch movements runs the length of the ceiling on each floor, serving as a visual focal point.





At the entrance of a stairway leading to the second floor there’s an antique scuba suit. Long copper bars frame the stairway. On the second floor there’s a large replica of a Panerai Luminor Marina watch face with hour markers and watch hands in a green luminescent finish. The upper-level space extends to an outside walkway/patio. The second floor will be used for private sales, parties and art exhibits.

The Panerai boutique is located at the end of Palm Court, a two-story blue-hued structure designed by Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto (his first US project). It is an area of the Miami Design Center dedicated to luxury watch and jewelry brand boutiques. A. Lange & Sohne, Hublot, IWC Schaffhausen, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Omega, Parmigiani Fleurier, Piaget, TAG Heuer, Tourbillon, Vacheron Constantin, Vhernier, Yvel, Audemars Piguet and Van Cleef and Arpels, are among Panerai’s neighbors. Most of the boutiques are open with the remaining to open in 2016.





Outside Palm Court there’s a replica of Buckminster Fuller’s Fly’s Eye Dome and a giant fiberglass bust of Le Corbusier by French artist Xavier Veilhan. This is in character with the intention of the Miami Design District to house landmark buildings created by world-class architects and site-specific art works by internationally renowned modern artists.

Palm Court is the latest phase in the Miami Design District, a 20-year project to convert an abandoned furniture and interior design center into an international art and design district with luxury shopping, world-class restaurants, museums, hotels and housing. The 18-block area is expected to be fully completed by the end of 2016, says Craig Robins, CEO of Dacra Development, who has led the development of the district.

Under Robins’ leadership, the design district has become an international focal point for modern art and design. However, the luxury shopping portion of the project is still a work in progress.

Bonati says he understands that there will be growing pains but he’s fully committed to Robins’ vision and says the boutique will attract buyers from the US, Latin America and Europe.

“Miami is the most important boutique in the United States. Not yet in terms of sales. (But) in terms of representing Panerai because Miami is a city of art. There are important events every year related to this…. Miami is the door of the United States. For me it is the correct mix to establish the image of the brand.”

Bonati also says that the Design District and Miami’s importance as an international modern art and design destination is complimentary with Panerai’s Florentine pedigree.

“Art and design is linked to the brand. You can see the detail. You can easily understand something that is timeless because this design was made in 1936 but it’s still contemporary now,” he says. “Florence is an expression of art that is universal because Florence expresses something unique that nobody can be able to express in the future. But Miami through this modernity, through this design and contemporary art is another expression for the future that can be very important. I love Miami for that. Most European people love Miami for that.”

[texex91]

Looks like a good place to visit if in town.

[nick c]

Amazing after all Panerai still kicking strong thank you Cru

[RollyFan98012]

Great post Cru! 😀


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[1st amg]

Thanks CRU, great info and read. Can't wait to visit that Palm Court, could be a place my wife would lose me for a few hours

[alexlt730512]

amazing store design, i was there back in April, but it was still under construction. hope to visit it again soon

[Hairdude1]

Thanks for sharing this Cru!

[Psmith]

Nice design work - thanks for sharing Cru

[Srhdad]

I'm thinking the margins are still respectable.