What better time to throw a dinner for one of Miami’s most beloved athletes than during Art Basel Miami Beach?
Luxury watch brand Tag Heuer was in town to celebrate its partnership with Miami Heat player Jimmy Butler, and had a few surprises in store for the crowd gathered at real estate broker Oren Alexander’s Miami Beach home on Tuesday evening. Imagery from Butler’s campaign was displayed around the living room and backyard dinner setup, with watches on display behind glass cases and on the wrists of several guests.
“It’s my first time in Miami,” said “Outer Banks” star Madelyn Cline. “It’s such a pleasure to be here — this is obviously the way to do it,” she said, flashing the Aquaracer timepiece on her wrist.
“Big fan of watches, big fan of the brand, obviously big fan of Miami Heat. I’m a Miami guy, lived here for 20 years,” said “Despacito” singer Luis Fonsi. He was able to catch a few art exhibitions en route to the dinner. “Tomorrow I have to shoot a commercial, so I’m going to be working, and then I leave to shoot a music video. So it’s just a little stop at home, and then I have to keep on going, because I’m going to be on tour,” he added.
“There’s always a lot going on during the Miami art weeks, so we wanted to honor Jimmy Butler as an official ambassador of the brand and we wanted also to unveil a new special limited edition,” said the brand’s North America president Benjamin Beaufils, touting Art Basel as the “best week of the year in Miami.”
Tag Heuer, which partnered with Butler earlier this year, also unveiled a new watch designed in collaboration with the athlete during the dinner.
“We didn’t have a chance to properly celebrate the partnership because of COVID-19,” said Frédéric Arnault, who had just come from the Louis Vuitton men’s show that paid tribute to the late Virgil Abloh. “Since he’s from Miami and the Miami Heat is here, we needed to do something here.” The chief executive officer, who was only in town for two days, praised the synergy between Tag Heuer and Butler. “He embodies very well the values of the brand: mental strength, high performance, very competitive, at the top of his game.”
Notably absent was Butler himself — the basketball player had sustained an injury during practice, and was taking it easy. Instead, Butler welcomed the crowd with a video message filmed at home, during which he described his limited edition — there’s only five of them — Carrera Heuer 02T Tourbillon. The watch, which retails for $25,000, features pink accents, a tribute to Butler’s favorite person: his daughter.
Paulina Vega, who was on MC duty as the crowd sat at long tables for an Izakaya-style dinner (which followed a live performance by violinist Ezinma), added that the athlete was the ideal addition given the brand’s tagline, “Never Crack Under Pressure.”
“We have to send him the best energy for a fast, fast recovery,” she added.
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