A Winning Strategy
SALON INTERNATIONAL DE LA HAUTE HORLOGERIE’S NEW FORMULA DELIVERED ON ALL ITS PROMISES TO MAKING FINE WATCHMAKING MORE DESIRABLE THAN EVER
The new formula adopted for this year’s SIHH in Geneva delivered on all its promises to make fine watchmaking more desirable than ever
Earlier this year—in January, to be exact—all eyes focused on Geneva for the 29th edition of Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH). As a melting pot of watch brands, this is where the latest trends in technical watchmaking are revealed, as the exhibitors unveil their latest creations. It is also where the people who are shaping the watch industry today and tomorrow meet.
Speaking of which, the watch industry has been confronted with an important paradigm shift in recent years. It began with structural change as more and more brands transformed their distribution and increasingly looked at e-commerce. Many have also adopted new channels of communication and have started looking more intently at their customers’ different buying habits. And more than anything, they have focused on their most important and most prestigious multi-brand retailers.
“In this new context, SIHH, which was designed as a private trade fair, must continue to promote business between the brands and these distributors. It must remain that exclusive and prestigious environment where the foremost journalists and retailers can see watchmaking at its very best,” explained Fabienne Lupo, Chairwoman and Managing Director of the Fondation of de la Haute Horlogerie. “However, SIHH must also satisfy exhibitors’ new expectations by opening more widely to watch enthusiasts, to the general public, and especially younger generations so that these new audiences can discover and marvel at this industry we all love.”
All that being said, one question remains: How will SIHH satisfy the new expectations of the profession and admirers of the finest timepieces?
THE JOURNEY CARRIES ON
Keeping up with the changes that began three years ago, this year’s fair opened with two major developments. Firstly, there is a fresh new format. On the eve of its 30th edition, SIHH continues to evolve and to open its doors to new brands and new audiences. This year, the fair had the pleasure of welcoming Bovet, who has decided to join SIHH, bringing the total number of exhibitors to
35, including 17 independent brands in the Carré des Horlogers—which returns for its fourth year—and the rest being the 18 historic maisons.
Secondly, SIHH 2019 also switched to a more compact, faster-paced schedule spread over four days with extended opening times, compared to the usual five days. More importantly, pretty much like last year and the year before that, the fair opened its doors to the public once again at the final day, so that collectors and enthusiasts can view the watches on show at their convenience.
This initiative proved to be successful, as shown by the record number of visitors for the entire four-day schedule.
Going through the numbers, this year, attendance rose by 15 percent from 2018, or up to 23,000 visitors including 1,400 accredited journalists that flew to Geneva from around the world and almost 3,000 public visitors on the last day of the exhibition. On top of that, for the first time ever, SIHH welcomed more VIPs and end customers than trade attendees.
PLATFORM FOR COMMUNICATION
One of this year’s most exciting new features for the fair is none other than The LAB. As a new showcase for innovation in technology, the LAB puts living and breathing innovation at the heart of SIHH. Strategically speaking, it was positioned at the center of the fair. This interactive open space hosts the very latest technologies developed by exhibitors, some in collaboration with the EPFL Institute of Technology, and takes new audiences behind the scenes of revolutions in the making.
Case in point: Virtual reality, artificial intelligence, digital archives, gesture recognition, connected functions, materials strength, customization and augmented craftsmanship. Through some twenty real-life projects exploring four themes—Virtual is Real, Complex is Seamless, Everything is Unique, Values are Valuable—the LAB takes the lid off the technologies that will rise to the challenges that the watch industry of tomorrow will have to face. But the LAB isn’t just about technology. It’s about people, too. The LAB is like a hub for discussion and discovery, for sharing views and also making new contacts.
And it’s proof of the extraordinary creativity of what is essentially a forward-looking industry.
Aside to the LAB, this year’s SIHH also stepped up the pace of the LIVE concept that debuted last year. Designed with all the amenities of a TV studio, the Auditorium becomes a tribune for SIHH and the exhibiting brands, with product launches, presentations by brand ambassadors, strategic considerations, debates on topical issues, influencer-led panel discussions and many more.
The four-day program took in some thirty keynotes, panels and interviews targeting a wide audience, from those attending the fair to fans of Fine Watchmaking who can tune in from around the world. On top of that, all of these contents were live streamed to SIHH channels and on exhibitors’ social media accounts.
STELLAR CREATIONS
The 29th SIHH also revealed the first trends in fine watchmaking for 2019. Many exceptional timepieces were on display, perpetual calendars in particular. True collector’s items, they could be seen in both the historic maisons as well as inside the Carré des Horlogers. A definite highlight would be the Vacheron Constantin Traditionelle Twin Beat Perpetual Calendar. As the name suggests, the watch has two regulating system operating at different frequencies, which allows the wearer of the watch to switch between the 5Hz active mode or 1.2Hz standby mode. As a final touch, the watch is completed with a truly astounding 65 days power reserve.
“As a matter of fact, one Chinese influencer had as many as 1.2 million people following his live stream”