Following news that the high-end watch industry’s two most important annual shows have been cancelled - Watches & Wonders (formerly SIHH) due to take place April 26-29, and Baselworld, April 30-May 5 - due to the latest developments and concerns surrounding COVID-19, several major Swiss luxury watchmakers have announced that they will host an off-shoot event called Geneva Watch Days 2020. The new independent event has been called a ‘decentralized and self-managed Multibrand watch event’, with Breitling, Bvlgari, Ulysse Nardin, Girard-Perregaux and MB&F taking part. With the ‘full support of the state of Geneva’, the event will take place in several high-end hotels in Geneva from April 26-29, the same dates initially planned by Watches & Wonders.
The unveiling took place last night by Jean-Christophe Babin, CEO of Bvlgari, during the a broadcast on Swiss National Television, where he stated: “Despite the cancellation of the two major Watch Fairs, it will allow retailers and media, primarily from Europe but not only, to discover, comment and order the novelties of the founding Brands, namely Breitling, Bvlgari, Gerald Genta, Girard-Perregaux, MB&F, Ulysse Nardin, De Bethune and Urwerk.”
This initiative won’t be a large gathering under one roof, as per Watches & Wonders and Baselworld, as per the Swiss government’s directive of limiting group events to less than 1,000 people, and it will allow retailers and media to meet these Swiss Watch Brands over a few days in the capital of Swiss Watchmaking, rather than attending various roadshows in different European cities, thus saving time.
The brands are due to provide updates regarding individual participation and contents over the next days.