MLG at the Miami Beach Antique Show

Monaco Legend Group was an exhibitor at the recent Original Miami Beach Antique Show (OMBAS) from January 11th to 15th. The January show is an important event on the annual international watch fair calendar and sets the tone for the rest of the year. Monaco Legend Group Co-Chairman Davide Parmegiani, shares his thoughts on the OMBAS as part of this exclusive show report.

The Show

“The show was busy and attended by a lot of great people. The mood was very good and my overriding feeling was that the quality of vintage watches was very high. There were also lots of beautiful antiques and a significant amount of incredible jewellery, with some important jewellery dealers buying and selling a lot of very good quality items.  One thing for sure is that modern and contemporary watches are slowing down a little in terms of price, but high quality vintage is still strong and by the end of the show, all of the vintage dealers were very satisfied with business.”

“These events are often about the people as much as the watches. We met up with a lot of friends, both old and new, and it was also great to see so many people from the industry.

The Market

“From what I saw I can say that the market is absolutely solid. The interest in collectibles in general seems to be very high, especially with vintage watches. 2023 was a year of change and an important opportunity to observe the market and understand where the strengths and weaknesses would develop. For sure, this can lead to new opportunities in the market.”

“In terms of Monaco Legend Group’s activity at the show, we were surprised by the number of people who wished to consign watches with us for our Exclusive Timepieces sales this year. Compared to the same time last year, the growth in these requests was astonishing, highlighting the big impression we have made on the market over the past year or so and the trust that we have built in the community. This was a very important take-home for us.”

The Deals

“We were able to secure some very interesting pieces for our next auction and made contact with some fantastic new clients and friends. We will shortly be announcing a very important and astonishingly beautiful highlight lot for our upcoming sale in the spring. This very impressive Patek Philippe watch has been consigned to us by a family from Texas. Acquiring such a watch and being chosen to offer this stunning timepiece, ahead of other auction houses, is another example of how important Monaco Legend Group is on the global auction map. This was, absolutely, the key deal of the show!”