The Original Miami Beach Antique Show with the Jones & Horan Auction House

The Miami Beach Antique Show is known to be the largest vintage and antique show in North America and is typically held every January at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami Beach, FL. It brings collectors and vendors from all over the world to arguably the biggest treasure hunt one could undertake. Miami is my hometown, so making the choice to attend this year’s show (my third overall) was an easy one.

At the show, I met up with the team from Jones & Horan auction house. This was my first time connecting with them and they were certainly a treat. They were kind enough to show me some of the most interesting watches that they had at their booth and share stories about the watches and their owner, George.

Based in Goffstown, NH, Jones & Horan is a small “mom and pop” auction house with an interesting story. It all began with owner George E. Jones and his father George F. Jones selling milk from their farm and bartering with customers for found items around their homes. Eventually, this led the younger George to start selling and buying other items. Some fun facts I learned at the show about George: He’s fist-fought a baboon, he was gored by a cow while protecting his son, traveled around England buying English estates, and he’s rumored to have been featured in National Geographic while exploring parts between Asia and the Middle East (the crew are still hunting for that issue). He’s what some might call a real life version of “the most interesting man in the world.” In addition, George has no idea how to swim but has a scuba diving certification. If it weren’t for his wife Patty Horan aiding him during the certification by helping him tread water, he wouldn’t have that certification. Aside from being husband and wife, Patty acquired her auctioneer license and in 1985, Jones & Horan was established.

The house holds auctions without buyer’s premium, reserves, or sales tax in the state of New Hampshire. They have everything ranging from $300 Omegas to high end jewelry and pocket watches with provenance to the likes of Robert Wagner and Red Skelton, to name a few. More on that in a bit. Tyler, Fred, Jack, and Courtney were gracious enough to show me some of the cool watches they brought with them to Miami and needless to say, there were some gems and fun ones to see.

Vintage Longines is always a good time. This is a Longines Cronómetro pocket watch made for the South American market, a beautiful 18k gold chronometer. It was likely sent to Argentina in 1906. The condition on this one was jaw dropping. Notice the beautiful dial cover. They just don’t make them like this anymore.

I mentioned fun earlier, but although this watch looks fun, it’s actually serious business. This is a Yema Bipole designed by Richard Mille (yes, that Richard Mille) for the 1990 Transantarctic expedition. It was an international collaborative effort for six individuals to cross Antarctica together. It’s a titanium watch with dials on the front and the back. The front of the watch represents North and the rear represents South. The back of the watch has a reverse, counterclockwise dial with an exposed outer ring to show the hands on the other side of the watch.

I was very excited for this one. I’m a big fan of Japanese watches and this one was truly a treat. This is an Osaka Timepiece Manufacturing Company pocket watch – the first true watch manufacturer in Japan, established in 1889. The company brought watchmaking technology from America and succeeded in making Japan’s first domestic pocket watch. This is a beautiful example in sterling silver with an enamel dial.

Ruser will be a name familiar to some as a jeweler-to-the-stars, creating pieces for celebrities such as Elizabeth Taylor and Red Skelton. It was bought by Van Cleef and Arpels and still exists on Rodeo Drive today. This is a custom order watch dated to 1968 for Red Skelton by his wife at the time. Red Skelton was known to have an affinity for all things gold, which this watch has plenty of. It also has various gemstones in the bezel and throughout the carved gold bracelet. Certainly a “look-at-me” watch, which was well suited to Skelton’s personality.

This Shellman Cloisonné Enamel World Time Minute repeater was quite interesting. Shellman is a jeweler based in Japan and the watch is a quartz world timer minute repeater with a movement made by Citizen. You’ll notice that Japan is at the center of the dial. It’s rumored that Sven Anderson may have designed the dial, although highly unlikely since he would typically produce 100 to 150 dials a year and these had a run of a 1,000. More likely, his work is an influence.

Speaking of Citizen, this Citizen Homer was cool to see. This one belongs to Jack, designer at J&H. This is a railway watch with ties to Japan’s railroad system, offering hacking and hand winding. A fun piece with a beautiful cream dial and clear black numerals for maximum legibility.

This is Tyler’s 2004 SBGA005. Made for the Onbashira Festival and limited to 300 pieces, it celebrates the festival where four onbashira trees stand around Lake Suwa in Japan. The trees are ceremoniously replaced every six years and transported down a hill during the festival. Festival goers ride the logs down the hill and are too frequently injured and even killed during the festivities. Affectionally nicknamed the “Spruce,” Grand Seiko designed the dial in a way that emulates the trees of the festival. Being one of 300, these are highly sought after by collectors.

Omega has many exploits when it comes to their watches – going to the moon, visiting the Mariana Trench, sponsoring the Olympics. However, the Omega Marine was the first known dive watch from the brand. The hermetically sealed case with cork gaskets was initially tested in Lake Geneva to about 35 meters but Omega wanted to take it further. They then tested to 135 meters in a lab and the watch succeeded in keeping water out. It may seem like a dress watch by today’s standards, but it most certainly was able to flex its tool watch muscles.

Although we mostly focus on watches on here, the show itself is much larger than just that. Coming to the fair, you’ll see a variety of art, vintage furniture, clocks, jewelry, and much more. Well known organizations like Sotheby’s hold panels and even some small auctions. There’s so much to see and experience there. Like I said, it’s probably one of the biggest treasure hunts one could attend and I would highly encourage you to do so. Happy hunting!