Late last year, it was announced that Rolex, Richemont and Patek Philippe had banded together to create the Watches and Wonders Geneva Foundation (WWGF), a not-for-profit organisation with a mission to promote watchmaking through global watch and jewellery exhibitions.
The WWGF is managed by a board, with Rolex’s CEO Jean-Frédéric Dufour as chairman and Emmanuel Perrin, Richemont’s head of specialist watchmakers as vice-chairman plus a committee, made up of representatives from the participating brands.
Matthieu Humair, current CEO of the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie, will become the CEO of the Watches and Wonders Geneva Foundation.
Here, Mr Humair explains the purpose of the new foundation and the reasons behind its founding.
WATCHPRO: You were the previous CEO of the FHH and are now heading up the WWGF. Why the change?
MATTHIEU HUMAIR: After the success of the first physical edition of Watches and Wonders Geneva in 2022, Rolex, Richemont and Patek Philippe decided to create the Watches and Wonders Geneva Foundation and share a commitment to the future of this event.
It was a natural move to have a fully dedicated organisation for the Salon. Today the WWGF and the FHH are two different foundations, with different goals, different missions and different teams.
WATCHPRO: What role will the WWGF play during this year’s Watches and Wonders?
MATTHIEU HUMAIR: The mission of the WWGF, based in Geneva and created in 2022, is to promote watchmaking excellence throughout the world with the purpose to organise onsite and online events with Watches and Wonders Geneva being the master one.
The foundation works hand-in-hand with the exhibiting maisons to offer the best platform for the industry. We are here to make sure that, from 27 March to 2 April, the heart of Geneva will beat to the rhythm of watchmaking movements.
WATCHPRO: Geneva itself has a big role in this year’s Watches and Wonders. How have you worked with the city to make the fair an all-encompassing event?
MATTHIEU HUMAIR: With nearly 50 exhibiting maisons, among the most prestigious players in the industry, gathering once a year all together, our goal is to make Geneva the destination for watchmaking.
Therefore, we have decided this year to open the doors of the Salon over the weekend to the general public and to animate the city centre of Geneva with a full programme named In The City. The impact of such an event on Geneva is tremendous.
Watches and Wonders Geneva is the fashion week of the watch industry bringing together press, retailers, collectors and visitors to meet the movers and shakers of today’s watchmaking world. All eyes will be on Geneva.
WATCHPRO: In throwing the doors open to the public, what additional elements are needed now that it is more than a trade show?
MATTHIEU HUMAIR: By opening our doors to the public, we have created a full comprehensive experience for our visitors with a programme where everyone can find what they are looking for. Apart from the new product launches from the exhibiting maisons, conferences in the auditorium will also take place with experts that will decipher watchmaking trends or explain how to start a watch collection. A new LAB area will also be one of the highlights, where visitors can experience the latest cutting-edge innovations and new technologies from the maisons but also start-ups and schools. Not to forget the exhibition illustrating the watchmaking gesture called “What time is it?” by Karine Bauzin, a swiss press photographer, and many other wonders to be discovered in Palexpo or on our digital platform watchesandwonders.com
In addition to this vast programme taking place within the walls of the Salon, we are introducing, for the first time this year, In The City. The idea is to bring watchmaking to the city centre of Geneva and associate the locals to this event. The watchmaking maisons participating in Watches & Wonders will animate their boutiques with different activations (workshops, talks, exceptional pieces, special collections etc.).
On 30 March, we will have a major event in the streets of Geneva (Rue du Rhône and Rues Basses) to celebrate watchmaking.
Boutiques will extend their opening hours until 9pm. There will be conferences, street performance, food trucks, and a famous electro DJ will perform live from the Quai Général Guisan. The city will vibrate to the rhythm of this watchmaking summit.
WATCHPRO: Post pandemic, what does a watch fair need to do to thrive in what became a digital world? Do you think that lockdown proved we could survive without live events, or did it highlight the need for them?
MATTHIEU HUMAIR: After the success of the 2022 edition, we could measure the need to meet again in person. There is nothing like meeting the women and men who make the watches, to touch the products and wear the products on the wrist. The lockdown reinforced it.
On the other hand, the two-years of covid have accelerated the digitalisation of the salon. Today digital has become a complete component of our physical event. Its hybrid concept – deployed in 2022 and continued in 2023 – has been designed to constantly adapt to the changing context, by combining a physical event with digital solutions that meet market expectations. The whole programme was entirely thought through to enable members of the most important international media and retailers to keep abreast of the news, both online and at the salon.
For 2023 we have developed new features to facilitate the registration process and improve the customer experience. The experience of the salon doesn’t start with the opening of its doors. It starts earlier, as soon as you receive your Watches and Wonders invitation, when you first login and start your registration process. Out of the 4,300 journalists invited, 2,500 will follow the whole press programme online. Wherever you are, you will be able to enjoy the Watches and Wonders Geneva watchmaking experience.
The strength of this hybrid format, combining online and offline, is its flexibility, meaning that we can adapt the format to the evolving situation. In the past, this has allowed us to maintain our calendar and it will continue to enable us to connect with our guests around the world.
WATCHPRO: As the fair increases in size, more and more visitors are going to come to Geneva during the week it is live. Now that you are the biggest watch show in the world, how are you going to avoid the mistakes that other events have made in the way they treat exhibitors and visitors?
MATTHIEU HUMAIR: Our proximity and collaboration all year long with the maisons allow us to build this watchmaking summit together. The platform must be suitable for large century-old watchmaking houses, but also for smaller ones and independent watchmakers. This is a project that is built hand in hand with all of them and the result of a collective initiative.
One of the strengths of our organisation is also the centralisation of the system, which is quite unique considering the size of the event. The whole programme in terms of hospitality is handled in-house.
We have been working with key partners and associations for many years now, which allows us to maintain privileged relationships whether with institutions, official authorities, the City and the Canton of Geneva, or hotels, and restaurants to ensure services remain impeccable and at a reasonable price. Watches and Wonders is not only the biggest watchmaking event in the world, but it brings a lot of business and positive impact to the city of Geneva.
WATCHPRO: Outside of Watches and Wonders, what does the WWGF do around the world?
MATTHIEU HUMAIR: Watches and Wonders Geneva is a major event that needs to be prepared more than a year in advance. The WWGF teams are all year long dedicated to the preparation of this big momentum. Other initiatives and events may take place in other destinations, but Watches and Wonders Geneva is clearly the biggest and major one.
WATCHPRO: What do you see as the biggest challenges facing the watchmaking industry today and what is the Watches and Wonders Geneva Foundation WWGF doing to counteract them?
MATTHIEU HUMAIR: The past years were quite challenging, especially in the event industry. In 2020 and 2021, we had to jump into digitalisation and come up with a solution in only a few weeks. Flexibility was definitely a key element to embrace such a challenging environment.
Today, one of our challenges is to deal with such a large scope of brands. We must integrate different realities, needs and expectations. We have prestigious maisons alongside smaller brands and independent watchmakers. It shows the variety of our industry, but also its richness, its creativity, and its dynamism. Our mission is to keep this important momentum that allows the maisons to talk together about watchmaking. It has a stronger impact when speaking with one voice. This is so important for future generations.
WATCHPRO: How important was it, and how much difference has it made, opening Watches and Wonders up to Rolex, Patek Philippe and LVMH? Is the plan to keep growing?
MATTHIEU HUMAIR: It is so exciting to see the industry together, 48 beautiful watchmaking houses this year. The arrival of these major actors has changed the landscape of Watches and Wonders, with Geneva clearly becoming the watchmaking destination.
This year, we are welcoming 10 new exhibitors, all very different. It brings an additional touch to the salon and more wonders for the visitors to discover. Watches and Wonders Geneva allows the industry to speak with one voice and for all the participating maisons to shine. As one. Let’s focus on this intense 2023 edition and more information regarding the future editions will come in due time.
