Authorized dealers of Cartier, Rolex, Patek Philippe and the other blockbuster watch brands lined up for Watches and Wonders next year will already be making travel arrangements to Geneva for the spring show.
Whether to allow for a day trip to Basel for the recently announced revival of Baselworld in the same week is a decision for a later date when (or if) a line up of participating brands is announced.
Complicating the issue further is news emerging today that a third exhibition called Time to Watches is being launched to run concurrently from March 30 to April 5 just 10 minutes away from Watches and Wonders’ Palexpo Geneva venue.
The organizer looks determined to provide a berth for watch brands that cannot get into the main Watches and Wonders exhibition but feel that Baselworld is unlikely to have the pulling power to attract trade and press visitors away from Geneva.
“Situated in the heart of Geneva, halfway between Palexpo by the airport and the lakeside hotels, Time to Watches will host 50 exhibiting brands in an emblematic building which combines exhibition areas, a dedicated media room and open spaces for informal meetings and catering. Aimed at industry professionals — retailers, medias, influencers and VIPs — the 4-day event will be open for one day to enthusiasts from the general public,” its organizer pitches.
Time to Watches will be held at the campus of HEAD – Genève, University of Art and Design — which is connected to the watchmaking industry through courses on watchmaking design, marketing and strategic challenges as well as trends and heritage issues related to the watchmaking industry.
“In the current context, our intention has always been to create an event that is relevant today and tomorrow, hence the synergy of our partnership with HEAD – Genève. We want to promote values of audacity and innovation in watchmaking by bringing together know-how, creativity and energy from watch brands, who all happen to be meeting on the same dates in the same city,” say Marc Angebault and Christian Wipfli, co-directors of Time to Watches.
