The 2014 edition of the SIAR was held at the comfortable St. Regis Hotel in Mexico City, which I also had the pleasure of staying at, being a guest of the show. My several days there felt like a compact cruise, as I barely left the hotel thinking of all the “be careful” advice I kept hearing being repeated in my head. Completely surrounded by the elite of the watch making world, I was encouraged by the sights of them actually having a good time. Sure, there is merriment aplenty in Europe, but the deep conservatism of Switzerland really prevents most of them from having as good of a time as you might expect during the evenings of trade shows. Speaking of evenings, I was personally very happy with the operating hours of the SIAR, which was open until 9pm each day. Much better, in my opinion, than the 6pm closing times dutifully enforced by irritating usher-types standing at the doors of shows like Baselworld.
I have to hand it to the Mexican hosts for giving people a good opportunity to relax at the end of a day. With the Europeans being surrounded by Latins doing what came natural to them, the Swiss ended up actually having a good time – I saw them relaxing a lot more than usual. Thankfully, the tequila was being poured and purchased liberally much to the satisfaction of the St. Regis. But hey, these people actually had something to celebrate, given the relative excitement of the typically complicated Latin American market.
The reality is that, despite its size, Mexico City is not a hub for Latin American luxury purchasing. If anything, Miami is. The larger issue for many watch industry executives is that they are used to focal points to offer their attention, such as large cities like Tokyo, Paris, or New York. Central and South America have plenty of big buyers, but no major hubs that brands must be a part of. That makes for a mostly fragmented and complex market which proves difficult for brands looking for an organized approach to the markets. What makes things more complicated is that, while they need to be in local markets in order to increase brand awareness, so much buying occurs internationally in the US or otherwise. In fact, places like Miami are so important for Latin American luxury purchasing, that many brands headquarter their Central and South American divisions there.
SIAR, like many local watch events in major cities around the world, is designed to serve as a nexus between watch buyers and brands. The SIAR does so in its own unique flavor and, as a representative of Mexico as well as South American markets, it does an admirable job of bringing the right people together. Competition is, nevertheless, stiff. Major watch brands are asked to attend an expanding number of “important” trade shows each year, and if there is enough money for them all, there frequently isn’t enough people-power.
SIAR, however, has established itself as an important event because of how complicated Latin America is to many luxury watch brands. The appeal to brands is very much in accessing the larger scope of Spanish (and Portuguese) speaking buyers and media in Mexico and beyond. Because some attendees come with purchasing in mind, brands come with some of their best products to sell. You might not expect such a vivid display of high-end horology at the show, but many brands really did come with their best offerings. With that comes some risk, and Mexico is, after all, Mexico.
On the last day of SIAR 2014, things, unfortunately, ended a bit prematurely. Someone seemed to slyly and inexplicably walk off with a six figure complicated timepiece from a brand I won’t mention. A lengthy cavity search of the attendees ensued (I jest) and the watch wasn’t to be found again. Nevertheless, spirits remained impressively high and not a word of the occurrence was uttered at the celebration gala and awards ceremony that proceeded. It was all just a nice lesson in the utility of insurance and what it means to wheel and deal in high-end goods.
