Nine independent brands have joined the upcoming edition of the SIHH, which opens its doors on January 18, 2016, while one brand is leaving the fold of standing exhibitors.

The 2016 edition of the SIHH sees Christophe Claret, De Bethune, H. Moser & Cie, Hautlence, HYT, Kari Voutilainen, Laurent Ferrier, MB&F, and Urwerk exhibiting at the first big watch show of the year.

The booths of the nine new exhibitors will be put into a “salon within the salon” boasting approximately 1,500 square meters of exhibition space. This space was previously used by Ralph Lauren, who is leaving the SIHH to concentrate its resources on the U.S. market according to a strategy likely devised by new CEO Luc Perramond (formerly CEO of La Montre Hermès).

The addition and subtraction of these brands enlarges the Geneva watch fair to encompass 24 marques in total.

The Greubel Forsey booth at the 2015 SIHH

The new independent section, which is called “Carré des Horlogers” (“Watchmaker Square”), brings the SIHH back to its roots in a way: the very first edition of the SIHH in 1991 also saw independent brands Gérald Genta and Daniel Roth exhibiting alongside Cartier, Piaget and Baume & Mercier.

A sprinkling of independents remained a mainstay of the SIHH until the very recent years. The AHCI also exhibited in the early years, and in 2010 Richard Mille and Greubel Forsey joined the SIHH, bringing this tradition of independents back to the Geneva show.

For more information, please visit www.sihh.org.