It was terrible timing for LVMH Watch Week. The watch brands of the world’s biggest luxury conglomerate were due to release their first novelties for 2025 at a trade show in Los Angeles last month – then the fires swept through, devastating the city.

There was no way the organisers could show off new high-end timepieces in the middle of a natural disaster. So smaller showings were hastily convened in Sydney, New York and Paris.