It's a bit like an “off” festival becoming “in”, with a few more guest-stars ... Each year, during the International Watch Fair, (SIHH, renamed Watches & Wonders Geneva in 2020 ), many brands not exhibiting there took the opportunity to unveil their new products in large hotels, on the shores of Lake Geneva. A tolerated “off” taking advantage of the presence of dealers and journalists from around the world.
Alas, this year, no one was to come, the two major watch masses organized after April and early May in Geneva and Basel were canceled due to coronavirus. But at the initiative of Jean-Christophe Babin, CEO of Bulgari, who announced this Monday on the RTS antenna, different brands exhibiting in one or other of these canceled shows together create a new show independent, the Geneva Watch Days. Its first edition should take place, if circumstances allow, from April 26 to 29. What cause surprise when at the same time, in Switzerland as in France, there are countless canceled shows and events ...
Each in his shop
How is it possible? The gamble is daring in the midst of an epidemic. The Swiss authorities have banned any event bringing together more than 1,000 people, but these brands are circumventing the problem by inviting their hosts to their Geneva shops in a decentralized manner. Ulysse Nardin will present its new 2020 products in its brand new Geneva boutique, a few steps from the busy Rue du Rhône. The first floor of this Ulysse Nardin boutique will thus host a showroom from Monday April 27, 2020 until May 09. There will be presented the brand's new flagship collection, the “BLAST”.
For its part Bulgari speaks not of "Geneva Watch Days" but of "Bulgari Watch Days", in the wake of the LVMH Watch Week in Dubai, organized last January. Customers and the media will be invited to Geneva to discover “a new battery of important creations. A new world record will be presented on this occasion, ”explains the brand, directed by Jean-Christophe Babin. In a press release, it is specified that, "on the initiative of Bvlgari, Geneva Watch Days will bring together several important brands including notably Girard-Perregaux, Ulysse Nardin, Breitling, MB&F, De Bethune, Urwerk, as well as other brands independent. This event will mainly target European retailers and the media. ” One way to deal with the issue of long-haul flights in these times of coronavirus. What if almost no one comes? It will always be an opportunity to communicate on watch announcements which, in any case, were scheduled to be made on these dates.
“The Geneva Watch Days event is not intended to replace the historic Geneva Watches & Wonders and Baselworld fairs in the long term, but presents an effective alternative on a smaller scale, given the changing environment in 2020, explain its co-organizers. It ensures the visibility of the funding of brand new products for 2020 and fights against the slowdown and gloom which has prevailed in the watch industry in recent years, reinforced since February by the Covid-19 pandemic. ”
"We fully support this initiative, especially after the cancellation of both the Geneva Motor Show and the Watches & Wonders Exhibition last week," commented Pierre Maudet, Geneva State Councilor. Even if its size cannot be compared, it will make a significant contribution to the Geneva economy during a period that would otherwise have been very difficult. We will provide participating brands with all of our support and thank them for choosing Geneva as the location for the event. ”
Other brands such as Breitling, Girard-Perregaux, MB&F, De Bethune and Urwerk will also be present in Geneva at the end of April, Chopard and H. Moser & Cie being announced as being in advanced discussions about their participation. It remains to be seen what the situation will be on the epidemic front at this time, and whether these simultaneous decentralized presentations will not hold more of the "coup de com '" to create the event than of the real living room. If the intention seems laudable, is it not, in a way, a living room without living room?