Brands weigh cost against popularity of watch fairs

Brands weigh cost against popularity of watch fairs

Is the watch fair debate finally over? Organisers and exhibitors seem to think so. After years of mud-slinging and uncertainty — peaking with the very public demise of the Baselworld Swiss megafair — the clock may no longer be ticking for the survival of the watch show. But, while the dust has settled, divisions remain.

“There is big momentum in Watches and Wonders,” says Matthieu Humair, chief executive of the Watches and Wonders Geneva Foundation (WWGF), the non-profit organiser of what is now Switzerland’s only major watch fair, opening on March 27. “It’s the fashion week of the [watch] industry.”

Rolex, Patek Philippe, Cartier and Tag Heuer will be among the exhibitors at this year’s event, which is expected to break attendance records. The 2022 gathering recorded almost 22,000 visitors but, unlike last year, the fair will now be open to the public at the weekend, when Humair expects 10,000 paying customers to show up.

Last year’s fair was closed to the public but, following an outcry from exhibitors and the success of watch events designed to reach outside the industry — such as the biennial Dubai Watch Week hosted by retailer Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons — the foundation has changed tack.

“We want