Miami Antique & Jewelery Show Report

[Tavli3]

Was at the show on Saturday and then again on Monday. Traffic was very light on both days. Friends of ours were there on Sunday and said it was busy but no where near what it was last year.

I spoke to several dealers and they all said business was slow. I asked one dealer who was very friendly and was kind of a wholesale guy how the action was and he said very slow. When I asked why he thought that was. His response was that he's been doing the show for over 10 years and he said every year the Italians would come in and buy up everything en-mass. This year they didn't show up. I asked him if Hong Kong was affecting the market and he said yes to a degree but the Italian situation was the biggest factor as far as he was concerned. First I ever heard this and found it quite interesting.
Usually you hear it's the Chinese coming in and buying up everything.

I personally can say for sure that pricing on vintage and current models is down noticeably from last year. Some dealers were still throwing out pie in the sky numbers but on the most part prices seemed much more reasonable.
Dealers were more willing to bargain to make a sale and bargain from a lower starting point from last year.

One case in point was a watch my friends have been looking to buy(16599 SAPH) was at the very best 100K last year, this year they saw one in mint condition and without much negotiation got the price to 75K.

Another case in point was I was talking with a local dealer and mentioned that I'm thinking of 6263 and what they are going for. He said for an honest good condition watch when I'm ready would go for about 60K. Which I thought was a very good price and much lower than I was expecting to hear.

My take is whatever is happening in the market for the watches we all love is just beginning and I guess depending on where you stand that could be a good thing or a bad thing. I'm going to keep my powder dry for now and see what happens up to and after Basel.

So that's it for whatever it's worth.

[Canbs]

Interesting and insightful report Jim. The Italian situation surprised me far more than the price reductions (corrections?).
Thanks for sharing.

[cat1pro]

I was there Saturday and spotted John Goldberger and Alfredo Paramico

I also heard a lot of Italian being spoken.

The problem is this is my first time ever attending the show so I am not sure what the traffic was in years past.

just my two cents

[Tavli3]

I was at one booth on Saturday that had several PNs I was trying to see but there was a group of highly animated Italians taking up all the space and inspecting every watch. But in the end they left without buying anything.

I saw all the same watches still there on Monday. So it would seem the Italians kept their wallets in their pockets and their lack of purchasing may actually be a factor.


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