Is it Worth Attending Milano Watch Week and the Patek Philippe Watch Art Grand Exhibition?

The world of the watch exhibition or watch show is a young and a dynamic one with more shows popping up all the time like Hands On Horology. When even the main, flag-bearing shows like Watches & Wonders in Geneva are barely five years old, it’s hard for others in the industry, who don’t have to have too many years under their belt, to feel somewhat established. Even so, it must be said that Milano Watch Week, whose third outing it was this weekend (October 2 – 4), is still a baby on the scene. I attended the event with one question on my mind, is it worth attending Milano Watch Week? Spoilers, it is.

Elements of that newness can work for an event – expectations are lower, tolerance levels are higher, the formula is not yet set in stone, and the energy tends to be livelier and more unpredictable. However, overall it probably makes things trickier to pull off: collectors and industry insiders are unsure what to expect (and many stay home or go to a competitor as a result), the big brands are less likely to come at all (or, if they do, not to send the top guns – either in terms of the horology or the personnel), the sponsors are less likely to view the investment as worthwhile and the organisation can be less well-oiled and more slap-dash, resulting in delays, frustration and complaints.

All of which is to say, it was with a slight feeling of apprehension that I approached the events in Milan. Having never been before, I didn’t quite know what to expect. Milano Watch Week proper has only taken place once before, in 2024 and was planned to be biennial thereafter; last year After Time, a “little brother” show took place, featuring micro- and smaller brands, as well as lower price points.

This year, the two were combined – with the downstairs at the Palazzo Mezzanotte building being taken up by the more established and more horologically heavyweight brands and exhibitors, while upstairs showcased some of the more up-and-coming brands. That meant that 55 brands were represented this year overall, a sizeable offering. Although the show was at pains to stress that it is not a selling show, Pisa (the storied Milanese watch retailer) was a big supporter this year and represented a number of interesting brands, essentially white-labelling their stands by providing stock (and, it seems, staff) to show to visitors at the Greubel Forsey, Krayon and other booths. That broadly worked – while the staff were happy to invite people to the boutique to see other pieces, it still didn’t feel like a hard-sell.

Indeed, the combination worked overall. Many of the big brands came and showed great pieces – both established ones (Grand Seiko, Zenith, Girard-Perregaux, Ulysse Nardin) and bigger independents (Laurent Ferrier, Franck Muller, Greubel Forsey); the organisation was impeccable  and the flow between the two floors and the range and depth of conversations seemed perfectly balanced without losing that fun energy of a newer event.  

The programme included the usual range of drinks and demonstrations at the individual stands, some interviews sprinkled through each of the three days and – of course – bigger drinks events and dinners organised by brands, dealers and others in the space to catch up, discuss and take the inevitable wristshots for Instagram. As ever, it was this aspect – the human interaction with other collectors – that was the most fun.

The other aspect that was unique to this MWW and one that definitely helped it welcome the thousands of people who attended – was the fact that, across town, the world’s top watch maison was holding its own biennial(ish) show. Patek Philippe organised the Watch Art Grand Exhibition at CityOval in another palazzo a little further out of the centre, showing a mix of highlights from its superb Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva. As well as examples from its current catalogue and a combination of Métiers d’Art and other special edition pieces that it created especially for this show and for the Italian market. As is always the case with modern Patek, this was a combination of superlative production for the venue and the show, fantastic museum pieces, whimsical and beautifully executed enamels, engravings and technical mastery in the Métiers d’Art and the current catalogue.

Nonetheless, the seventeen-day-long show is a destination in and of itself – and any readers who find themselves in Milan before 18 October should definitely look in (tickets are free but booking is required). While the exhibition doubtless helped swell the numbers at MWW, it’s worth a visit on its own.

The general cadence of the weekend involved a day at the MWW venue, a day at Patek Philippe and with other brands “offsite” and depending on your travel arrangements, flights back home on Sunday evening or Monday lunchtime. Lunches tended to be long and indulgent, dinners tended to be preceded by early drinks and breakfasts were sometimes later than initially planned.

The definite stand-outs for me were the chance to have an extensive discussion with another collector about the work of Yosuke Sekiguchi and to see several of the pieces made by him – he makes few pieces, all entirely by hand and on his own, without any staff working for him and that level of detail and craft is always immediately clear when holding one of the watches.

I also loved my friendly chat with Luca Soprana about the Derek Pratt and Luca Soprana range of pieces that he is producing (each deserving a separate article – or an hour of your time going down a research rabbit-hole): Luca’s love for watchmaking and the work that went into finishing and perfecting Derek Pratt’s DP07 remontoir are apparent and the pieces still don’t get nearly enough recognition.

Third, the chance to catch up with the fantastic, relaunched L.Leroy and the Vox Temporis (inspired by a Leroy montre à tact of 1810) that they launched at Geneva Watch Days last month. Beautifully made and worth experiencing in the metal but unfortunately too big in its current incarnation, but I am excited to see what the brand does next.

If you wanted to get off your feet for a while, you could go to Vesta, in Brera, which for the three days operated as a sort of club room for the industry and invited guests. It was organised as a tie-up by MWW with Dubai Watch Week, with Dubai bringing its Off the Clock format to Milan. Somewhere to sit down over a drink, away from the stands, with a few curated conversations through each day. Some of the events here were great, including the party on Saturday that saw a “speed dating” event with some of the top watchmakers and a chance to win tickets to Dubai Watch Week (including flights): it was loud, busy and fun.

The partnership was billed as an early taste of what Dubai is planning for its eighth edition in 2027, and both sides have promised more joint ventures at future editions of each show. Although not as yet any agreement to make the events take turns each year; Dubai Watch Week is already biennial but made noises after last year’s event that it may switch to an annual format, and MWW has not suggested that it is going back to its originally envisaged two-yearly rota.

Overall, the weekend was a success. While not as varied and as much of a “must” in the calendar as Dubai Watch Week, which remains the paragon of these collector meetings, I heard several people suggest that the smaller scale and surprising depth of the event made it preferable to Geneva Watch Days, in their eyes at least. It will be worthwhile paying a visit and watching the collector-meet grow and mature in future years.