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Bucherer Reopening Its Gargantuan Las Vegas Watch Store After Being Closed for a Remodel

The largest watch and jewelry store in the United States is unveiling a major renovation that took more than one year to complete at The Forum Shops at Caesars in Las Vegas.

The new Bucherer 1888 TimeDome store is truly huge with 18,848 square feet of watches, fine jewelry and art. It comes in at 1,000 square feet more than the company’s previous outpost there. In 2005, this store made the Guinness Book of Records as the largest retail watch store in the world. The watch retailer is working to get recertified.

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Interior highlights include a distinguished ceiling dome hovering above two grand curved staircases that connect the first and second floors. “It is really a thrilling day for us,” said Ira Melnitsky, chief executive of Tourneau LLC and president of Bucherer USA. “We have filled the store with incredible, one-of-a-kind and unique pieces for enthusiasts of watches and jewelry. They will see things they have seen nowhere else.”

The Las Vegas store’s second floor houses the fine jewelry section, which carries a selection of Bucherer’s own jewelry line designed and built by an in-house team. Also, the store is expanding its jewelry lineup with selections from brands including Chanel, Messika and Rahaminov.

The Las Vegas store’s head-to-toe revamp is part of the rebranding effort of the Tourneau/Bucherer name. In 2018, Bucherer, the largest watch retailer in Europe, acquired Tourneau, the largest U.S. watch retailer. The company has been operating under the two names, but eventually the brand will move over entirely to the Bucherer name.

For the redesigned store, Bucherer, which carries scores of watch brands, worked with some of its brand partners to create various spaces to showcase collections. It collaborated with Rolex for its own unique look encompassing the company’s signature green for its walls as well as dark wood and special accents. There will be a selection of Rolex watches there as well as the recently created Rolex certified pre-owned collection. Other iconic labels available will include Breitling, Cartier, Chanel, Carl F. Bucherer, Tag, Omega and Tudor.

The exterior of the remodeled store. Photo: Martin King, courtesy Bucherer.
The exterior of the remodeled store. Photo: Martin King, courtesy Bucherer.

To officially unveil the remodeled Las Vegas store, Bucherer is launching “Masterworks,” a curated collection of timepieces offered for the first time in the United States. The collection includes haute horlogerie pieces from niche and established brands with limited-edition and one-of-a-kind selections by Girard Perregaux, H. Moser, Hautlence, Jacob & Co. and Lysse Nardine.

“There are a lot of places to go to in Las Vegas to buy things, but we wanted a destination location that people could visit,” Melnitsky said. He noted the watches and jewelry selections will be complemented by outstanding artwork by Andy Warhol, Damien Hirst, David La Chapelle and American graffiti artist Kaws.

The top-to-bottom redesign of the Las Vegas store comes nearly two years after the company’s New York flagship underwent a similar overhaul. What had been known as Tourneau’s TimeMachine store, now Bucherer 1888 TimeMachine, reopened in September 2021 after a two-year gut renovation. The store’s famous facade of clocks was replaced by a high-tech video installation.

The renovated Bucherer 1888 TimeMachine in New York, which is almost as large as the Las Vegas store, became the first point of sale in the U.S. for the retailer’s signature Bucherer Blue line of watches.

In Las Vegas, Melnitsky said the Bucherer 1888 TimeDome store has always had a loyal customer who comes to Las Vegas quarterly to gamble, dine and shop. “The store is heavily repeat customers and new customers who wander in,” he said. “I think now it is more than just a place to buy watches and jewelry, but a place to explore.”

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