ONE FOR THE RECORD BOOKS
In an ultra-connected world where experience and innovation count, the Salon’s new formula delivered on all its missions in making Fine Watchmaking more desirable than ever
SPARKLING BUBBLES, pampered taste buds and, above all, the pleasure of being together, sharing and exchanging. Tonight, more than 500 guests, including retailers and journalists from all over the world, collectors, personalities from the Geneva business community, as well as the 35 CEOs of the exhibiting Maisons, gathered to launch the 29th edition of the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie in Geneva. This festive, warm and friendly evening showcased a shared passion for Fine Watchmaking around the Colors of Time theme, with intense, bright hues reflecting the spirit of these reunions marking the very first highlight of the annual watch industry calendar.
Organized for the first time within the setting of the SIHH, the Colors of Time evening was full of surprises for its guests. A red carpet walk, a stop-off at the photocall wall, TV cameras rolling and flashbulbs popping marked the start of festivities at 7:30 pm. A first special moment worthy of a great festival featuring various guests and wellknown figures such as Pierce Brosnan, who posed for the cameras before witnessing the big ‘family photo’ gathering of the 35 CEOs of the exhibiting Maisons around Fabienne Lupo, Managing Director of the SIHH. A drone took flight to capture this moment before it was posted on social media!
Then came time for celebrations and entertainment. Immersed in a black and white setting and wearing a flashing luminous bracelet, guests first witnessed a superb performance by choreographer and dancer Daniel Stryjecki. Sweeping movements reproduced in the form of colors projected onto a giant screen. The pure grace of perfectly controlled and flowing body language!
On the other side of the stage, the evening continued in “technicolor” mode, alternating between the electro-lounge sound of Parisian DJ Julia, the lively beat of the seven musicians of “the London Essentials” strolling around the venue and a joyful team of stilt walkers in charge of welcoming and guiding guests.
In terms of gastronomy, the Colors of Time theme was interpreted in live cooking mode through four colorful atmospheres: blue-green for the oyster bar, red-orange for lobster and salmon carpaccio, yellow for scallops or turmeric-baked tilapia, and purple for Baltic black beef or beets... A real treat for the eyes and taste buds, the cocktail dinner was masterfully
orchestrated by Executive Chef Yoann Conte, Pastry Chef Christophe Renou, Meilleur Ouvrier de France; and Market Chef Frédéric Jaunault, also Meilleur Ouvrier de France.
Shellfish lovers were able to appreciate the dexterity of the oyster opening world champion, Marcel Lesoille, who holds the record in this field!
A worthy kick-off to the SIHH 2019, the evening vividly reflected the spirit of the 29th edition opening this Monday January 14 in Geneva: intense, fast-paced, dynamic, and resolutely oriented towards exchanges and networking. A full immersion into the heart of the passion for Fine Watchmaking that the 20,000 visitors eager to discover the major watch trends and innovations of 2019 are about to experience over the course of this week.
The 29th Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie concluded after a highly successful four days with over 23,000 visitors. Millions of views across social media, new audiences, fabulous watches and a packed programme of keynotes and panels were only some of this year’s highlights. Resolutely outward-looking, generating content and connections, this most talked-about edition confirms the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie as a foremost platform for communication.
With four non-stop days of discoveries, the 2019 edition rolled out an action-packed programme for visitors. Panel discussions, brand presentations and keynotes by eminent personalities... the surprises kept on coming, with special appearances by many of the exhibiting brands’ ambassadors, including actors, athletes, writers and leading influencers supported by their fan base.
The Salon’s new format hit the mark, thanks to the bigger and better LIVE concept in the Auditorium as well as the creation of the LAB, a showcase for exhibitors’ innovations in digital and technology. This first-time initiative proved successful as a place for networking and as a think tank for the industry. Artificial intelligence, virtual reality and augmented craftsmanship are some of the technologies through which Fine Watchmaking is expanding its expertise and making this expertise known.
By opening beyond its four walls and by creating new types of content, SIHH attracted new audiences not just inside the venue but outside too, due to a powerful digital communications strategy. The 30 presentations in the Auditorium were all streamed live. There were also dedicated spaces for sharing photos on Instagram, Facebook, Weibo and other social media. This digital rampup totally lived up to its promise, with the #SIHH2019 hashtag featured in no fewer than 380,000 posts on websites, blogs and webzines, reaching almost 260 million people. There was a much stronger engagement this year with China and with millennials.
This 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, where colour became an integral part of watch design, with blue and green continuing to gain in popularity. Moon phases and “métiers d’art” dials also came to the fore, while the arrival of original alloys, based on carbon or recycled titanium, was mainly noticed in sport watches.
Attendance set a record this year at 23,000 unique visitors (up 15% from 2018), in all categories, even with a four-day schedule instead of the usual five. For the first time ever, SIHH welcomed more VIPs and end customers, than trade attendees. In all, 1,400 accredited journalists travelled to Geneva from around the world. The Open Day on Thursday afternoon attracted almost 3,000 public visitors, all fans of beautiful timepieces and eager to discover the latest creations. With that, the 29th edition set a new record in the history of the Geneva-based Salon.